The Fallen Prodigy
by GreninjaTime
Summary: After his Kalos Pokemon league defeat, Ash returns home to find himself in a tough situation. With no friends to turn to and the law on his tail, Ash must learn how to live life as an outlaw in seclusion. But, 6 years later a special tournament is held, and Ash finds himself being forced back into society. Probably no shippings with Ash.
1. Chapter 1

**Hello users of FanFiction! I am GreninjaTime and this is my first fanfic. I've been reading on this site for a while now and I felt that I should give writing a try for myself. I have rated this story T, however it may become M as it progresses (I will update the rating when needed). As of now there will be no shippings in this story but I might change my mind. Feel free to review and please leave feedback, positive or negative, it is all appreciated! So, without further ado lets go!**

* * *

"Another league lost. What's that, six now?" Ash moaned to himself frustratedly.

Ash Ketchum was the supposed Pokémon trainer prodigy from Pallet Town. He was currently on the flight back home from Kalos after his latest Pokémon league defeat.

"We were so close Pi, so close."

"Pikapi..."

Pikachu was Ash's strongest and most trusted Pokémon that he had. The two began their journey together in Kanto and had travelled to every region, successfully losing in all of the leagues.

"First Kanto, then Johto, Hoenn, Sinnoh and Unova. And now Kalos too? Do you think we'll ever win buddy?" The usually happy-go-lucky 16 year old was on the verge of depression. He was starting to doubt himself as a trainer. He knew that it was no fault of his Pokémon's that he had lost in every league, it was because of his inability as a trainer.

"Pika! Pika chu pi!" Pikachu would not let Ash doubt himself. He was the best trainer any Pokémon could wish for!

"Thanks bud, I'm just worried. What if we don't make it? What if we never become masters?"

But Pikachu wasn't having any of it. He charged up a powerful thundershock and electrocuted Ash, drawing the attention of many other passengers on the plane.

The shock from Pikachu seemed to snap Ash out of his mood and brought him back to his usual energetic self.

"I guess you're right Pikachu, there's no need to worry. Of course we'll become masters! Me and you pal, we're gonna show the world what we can do!" Ash exclaimed rather loudly, again drawing the attention of many other passengers.

"Hehe...sorry," Ash said sheepishly while putting one hand behind his head.

Before long, the plane had arrived at the Viridian City airport. Ash and Pikachu departed from the plane and were soon engulfed in the bustling crowd of people looking for their flights. Whilst fighting his way through the crowd, Ash noticed that there seemed to be an unusually large number of police officers roaming throughout the airport.

"I wonder what's going on?" Ash asked his electric mouse. "Think something bad happened?"

"Pikapika pi," Was the response from the rodent.

"Yeah, you're probably right. Just a security check or somethin.'"

The duo continued to fight through the mob of people until they got to the airport exit, where they were stopped by a suspicious looking officer Jenny.

"May I please see your trainer ID?" She asked through narrowed eyes.

Ash furrowed his eyebrow in confusion. "Umm...sure," He replied and handed her his pokédex.

A few taps later, Ash noticed the officer's eyes widen so he asked innocently "Is something wrong officer?"

"Ash Ketchum of Pallet Town you are under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything that you say may be used against you in court," Jenny said quickly as she pulled out a pair of handcuffs and wrapped them around Ash's wrists.

"What?!" Ash exclaimed. "There must be some mistake! I didn't do anything!"

The officer hastily called for backup which soon arrived. Two male policemen came to the scene. One of them stood at about 6'4 ft and had a toned, muscular build. He had a scar going across one of his eyes and was missing a few teeth. The other cop looked the exact opposite. He was around 5'5 ft and lacked any muscle. He wore framed glasses and carried a tight looking cage.

"Jansson, put the Pikachu in the cage and we'll take him away," Jenny said to the smaller officer, who was presumably named Jansson.

"What? No, Pikachu, run!" Ash exclaimed. He may not of known what was happening but he couldn't let his best friend get caught.

But Pikachu didn't run. Instead he leapt off of Ash's shoulders and began charging a powerful thunderbolt attack. Ash panicked when he saw the bigger officer pull out a Glock 19 pistol and aim it at Pikachu.

"Pikachu! Stand down!" Ash yelled. Pikachu reluctantly stopped charging his attack and sat down.

The officer lowered his gun and proceeded to put Pikachu into the cage. Ash was roughly thrown into the back of the police car, as was Pikachu.

"Don't bother trying to break out of that cage," The muscular officer sneered at Pikachu. "It's resistant to electricity."

The police car began moving and Ash had an extremely hard time staying calm about the situation. ' _Think Ash, think. Why are you in here? How can you get out?'_ But he came up clueless and before he knew it, the car had stopped outside of the Viridian police station.

"Move kid. And don't even think about trying to run off," Officer Jenny told him.

The three officers escorted Ash to a temporary cell and took Pikachu away to a separate area.

"Your parents have been notified of your arrest and will arrive here soon. You will remain in this cell until your sentence has been judged. When it has, you will be moved to a high security prison. Do you understand?" The skinny officer addressed Ash.

' _Darn_ _.'_ Ash thought. What would his mom and professor Oak think about this? _'Don't worry. They'll get you out and make things right.'_ He told himself. He did have a question that he wanted answered though…

"Why am I in here? I've done nothing wrong," Ash asked the officer.

"I am not at liberty to discuss that." Was his response as he walked away.

"Great..." Ash muttered to himself. "Guess I'll make myself comfortable." He looked around his cell. There was an uncomfortable looking bed in the corner of the room and a small hole, presumably for the toilet, at the other side. Ash wasn't surprised to see that there was no windows. He moved over to the bed and sat down. The bed was rock solid.

"For Arceus' sake..." Ash moaned. It was at this point that he realised the officers hadn't taken away his Kalos Pokémon's Pokéballs. He briefly thought about attempting to break out but realised that it would be pointless and probably make the situation worse...somehow…

* * *

An hour later Ash heard the sound of fast footsteps and looked up to see his mom looking at him through the bars.

"Mom!"

"Ash!"

"You've gotta help me mom! I've done nothing wrong, I promise!"

"I know you haven't, don't worry. We'll get you out of this mess."

Ash smiled at his mother. "Thanks mom."

It was then that Professor Oak arrived with Officer Jenny.

"Why is my son in a cell?" Delia asked accusingly.

"Ash Ketchum has been arrested for several accounts of Pokémon mistreatment and murder."

"WHAT?" Ash almost screamed. "Are you kidding me? I'd never hurt a Pokémon!"

"Tell it to the judge," The officer responded before walking away.

"This is crazy! I'd never do anything bad to a Pokémon!"

"Don't worry Ash we'll sort out this mess," His mother assured him.

Ash glanced at the professor to see him looking rather troubled and confused.

"What's up professor?" Ash asked. Considering the circumstances it seemed like a stupid question, but he thought he would ask anyway.

"I have to say I never expected this. I would never of thought that you, of all people, would harm and kill a Pokémon," The professor said slowly.

"Professor!"

"Samuel!"

"I'm sorry both, but until I have seen evidence from either side I will stay neutral in this situation."

Delia began screaming many indecent words at the professor and slapped him continuously until he walked away. A police officer came to check on all the noise and escorted Delia away.

"Don't worry Ash!" She screamed. "We'll get you out of this!"

* * *

One week later Ash found himself entering a court room in an attempt to defend himself from his 'crimes'.

Ash took a glance around as he walked in. At the front of the room sat the Judge. He was a fairly old man, Ash guessed him to be around fifty five, and he wore a robe of black silk damask. There was something about his plain, calm face that put Ash on edge. It was as if this were no big deal to him, but after thinking about it again Ash guessed that it probably wasn't.

At the left hand-side of the room sat the prosecutors. Sat in the stands were many people whom he did not recognise, but he was taken aback by a certain three people who were in the stands.

One of these people was a boy that Ash had grown up with. They had been rivals for the most part of their lives but had kindled a friendship during Ash's adventures through Sinnoh. The boy had spiky auburn hair and sharp black eyes. He always wore a cocky smirk that made Ash want to punch him in the face. This boy was none other than Gary Oak.

The second person that Ash recognised was a girl who Ash travelled with throughout both Kanto and Johto. She had short orange hair which went in an upwards ponytail and gentle, green eyes. Ash thought that she was his best friend. Apparently he was wrong. This girl was known as Misty Kasumi.

The final person that Ash recognised was a few years older than Ash, and had travelled with him throughout four regions. He had short, brown, spiky hair and had very narrowed eyes, giving him a knowledgeable look. He was a man that Ash had respected through all of his journey, and was one of the people that inspired Ash to become a better trainer. This man was Brock Takeshi.

Seeing these people sat against him caught Ash heavily off guard and he could already feel the tears welling up in his eyes. Three of the people who Ash had known for the longest had turned their backs on him and betrayed him when it mattered the most.

As Ash entered the room he walked past the audience seats and received many glares from various people. He was honestly surprised at how many people believed that he had committed such horrible acts.

Ash walked to the defence seats and sat down next to his lawyer, Lucian Goyo. Lucian was a member of the Sinnoh Elite Four as well as being a well established lawyer. When he had heard about Ash's case, Lucian had flown from Sinnoh to Kanto to offer his assistance. During his travels, Lucian had come across Ash and was impressed with his love for pokémon. This is why he believed that Ash could not possibly be guilty for the accused crimes.

* * *

The trial had been going for far longer than Ash had the heart to count. It wasn't looking good for him right now.

Ash had nobody on his side to defend him, other than himself and his lawyer. His mother was ruled unfit to be a witness due to her unstable emotions and the fact that she had no evidence to go against the accused charges. Ash was heartbroken to see that none of his other former travelling partners had shown up. True friends are those who come to your aid in tough times. Ash had recently found out that he had no true friends.

He was still in utter shock at the 'evidence' being used against him. There were numerous pictures and videos showing Ash abusing pokémon. It didn't make sense. He knew for a fact that he had never, _ever_ , abused a pokémon in any way, but here there were pictures videos showing a complete opposite to that.

One disturbing picture in particular showed a tauros chained to the floor with one of it's horns cut off. Standing next to the beast was Ash, holding a chainsaw up to the bull pokémon's other horn.

It made no sense. The person in the picture looked _exactly_ like Ash. He had the same hair, the same hat, the same jacket and even the same z shaped marks on his cheeks. But it wasn't him, Ash knew he had never done such a thing to a pokémon; he never knew such things even happened!

"May Brock Takeshi please come to the stand?" The lawyer representing the prosecutors asked.

Ash was snapped out of his thoughts by his 'friend' being called to the stands to testify against him. Neither Gary nor Misty had yet to be called to the stands.

"Mr. Takeshi, you claimed that you caught Mr. Ketchum taking one of your own pokémon's life, is that correct?" The judge asked the breeder.

"Yes, your Honor. That is correct," Brock responded.

Ash shot up out of his seat and was about to shout at Brock for lying, but Lucian quickly pulled him down and shot him a look that said ' _be quiet!'_

"If it is not too painful for you, would you please explain exactly what you saw?"

"Of course your Honor. It was about one and a half weeks ago. I was having a practise battle with my brother, Forest, when I had a familiar cry coming from the forest." Brock paused for effect. "I went to check out what was happening when I saw _him_ ," Brock shot Ash a venomous glare "hunched over my croagunk. He stepped back and I was able to see a...a..."

"Please, do go on," The judge said.

"There was a knife stuck in the back of my croagunk. Blood was everywhere. I looked at him shocked and he just smiled at me and took off..." Brock finished before he broke down into tears.

There were no words to describe how Ash felt. Sorry for the breeder, angry at whoever was surely framing him, and worry. He was worried about how this trial would end. There were still more witnesses for the prosecutors whereas he was the only person able to defend himself.

Ash looked up to see Misty going up to the stand and escorting a crying Brock out of the room. As they walked past him Misty sent Ash a look that would be sure to haunt him forever.

* * *

"May I call Ash Ketchum up to the stands, your Honor?" Lucian asked.

"Yes, you may. Ash Ketchum please come up the stand."

Ash inhaled a deep breath. This was it. His one shot at saving himself from this mess. His one chance to prove himself innocent.

As he walked up to the stand, Ash felt many of the other people in the room glaring daggers at his back. It was unnerving, having so much hate focused on you. He had never felt this way in his life.

"So, Mr. Ketchum. What do you have to say about the crimes that you are accused for?" the judge began the trial.

Ash inhaled. "All of the accusations against me are false. I have done no such thing to any pokémon in my life, and I never will. Pokémon are my friends and I would never dream of hurting any of them."

"So, what do you have to say about the numerous pictures and videos shown against you?"

"Your Honor, all I can say is that the person in those images is not me. Yes," he quickly added as he saw the opposing lawyer raise their hand "the person does look exactly like me, but I can assure you that it is not me."

The opposing lawyer began questioning Ash. "In terms of Mr. Takeshi's case, do you have any proof that you did not kill his lotad?"

"Well, I have no evidence that I can show you, but I was in Kalos at the time," Ash responded.

"Ah yes, you had recently competed in the Kalos league had you not?" A smirk rose to the lawyer's lips.

"Yes, I lost in the final round," Ash said through gritted teeth.

"But the Kalos league ended three weeks ago. How come you were still in Kalos?"

"I was staying with my friends that I had met there before I came home."

"I see. And why are those friends not here now?"

Ash had nothing to say. He had no idea why his friends hadn't come to support him.

After a minute of silence the lawyer said "That is all your Honor."

* * *

The trial had ended and Ash was back in his cell awaiting the result of his trial.

He knew he had lost. He just didn't have enough evidence to back his claims up.

The next day Officer Jenny came to his cell.

"Ash Ketchum, the court has come to a decision on your trial."

"Already?" Ash asked incredulously. ' _That seemed a bit quick.'_ He thought.

"You have been charged with twenty four accounts of Pokémon abuse and eleven counts of Pokémon murder. You will serve four life sentences in prison."

Ash had nothing to say. His mind blanked out as Jenny escorted him out of his cell and to a police truck. The two cops from before were sat at in the front of the car and the muscular officer smiled evilly at him as he passed. Ash was sat in the back of the truck and waited for it to start.

' _I am not going to jail'_ He told himself. Ash quickly thought of a plan to get himself out. It was a cheap shot, but all that he had.

"Hey!" He shouted to the officers in the truck. "I need a crap!"

"Hold it in kid," A gruff voice came from the front.

Ash shrugged. "Fine then, I guess I'll just do it in here then..."

"Alright, alright. You have 5 minutes and will be escorted to the toilet. Get moving."

Ash smiled. So far so good.

The smaller officer led Ash back inside and to the toilets.

"Are you going to go then?" The officer asked Ash impatiently.

Ash just glanced down at his handcuffs and with a sigh, the officer pulled out the key and unlocked them with a click.

' _Big mistake'_ Ash thought as he entered a toilet cubicle. For some reason, nobody had taken his Kalos pokemon off of him yet. He reached down to his belt and selected three Pokéballs.

"Greninja, Noivern, Hawlucha come on out!" Ash yelled.

The officer had no time to respond before he was hit on the back of the head by Hawlucha's karate chop.

"Alright, Noivern use your sound waves to find Pikachu. Show me where he is when you've found him."

Noivern began flapping his ears as he attempted to located Pikachu. When he had found the mouse he took off down the hallway.

"Greninja, Hawlucha, cover me." Ash informed his Kalosian Pokémon as he ran after Noivern.

As soon as he entered the hallway, a police officer saw him and began ringing the alarm. He was swiftly hit in the throat by a water shuriken.

* * *

After fighting off several police officers, the group arrived at the room where Pikachu was being held. Ash quickly picked up the cage containing his mouse and got Greninja to pick the lock.

"Thanks for your help, return!" Ash said he recalled Hawlucha, Noivern and Greninja. "Alright buddy, blast a hole in that wall with thunder!" Ash informed his electric Pokémon.

"PIKA CHUUUU" Pikachu yelled as he unleashed a devastating thunder attack at the wall.

"Great job pal, lets go."

"Hold it!" Officer Jenny appeared behind the pair. "Order your Pikachu to stand down and surrender yourself."

Ash thought for a second. "Pikachu… use your strongest thunder attack. Don't hold back."

Jenny's eyes widened as she was hit by the powerful thunder attack.

Ash winced as he saw her body fall and hit the floor. "That should keep her down for a while. Now come on, lets go pick up the rest of the gang!"

* * *

It was 4 am and the town of Pallet was fast asleep. No Pidgey's were chirping, and no human was gardening. Ash smiled as he looked upon the town that he grew up in. The place where he started his journey with his faithful companion. As he reflected, Ash suddenly realised just how lucky he had been that day. If he hadn't overslept, he would've started his journey with a different Pokémon and would never have met Pikachu. The thought made him shiver and he began to make his way to the Oak research lab to pick up his Pokémon.

As he arrived Ash knocked on the door of the lab. No answer.

' _Strange'_ Ash thought. The professor was usually awake at this time.

Ash knocked again. No response.

A worried feeling came over Ash as he knocked for the third time.

His hopes rose as he saw that the door began to open...only to reveal Pallet Town's own Officer Jenny.

She smiled as she said "Hello Ash, we've been expecting you."

Ash reached for a ball at his belt but Jenny was faster. She tackled him to the floor and held onto both of his arms so he couldn't release a Pokémon.

Acting on his feet, Ash yelled "Pikachu thunderbolt! Don't hold back, I'll be fine!"

Reluctantly, Pikachu fired an impressive thunderbolt at the two fallen humans. Ash, after being shocked so many times, only grunted in pain whereas Officer Jenny screamed and black out. Ash threw her off of him and quickly stood up. Many more officers had since come out of the laboratory, giving him no chance of getting his Pokémon back without a fight.

"Come on out and fight everyone!" Ash yelled as he threw 5 pokéballs into the air. Greninja, Hawlucha, Noivern, Talonflame, and Goodra all materialised out of the balls and got into battle stances.

"Fight by yourself! Don't wait for my orders," Ash told his pokémon.

The next few minutes went by in a blur. There were attacks being launched left and right and Talonflame was already down. There were too many officers for Ash's pokémon to handle at once. He was pretty sure that by now the entire town must have been awake.

He was no idiot, Ash knew he was majorly outnumbered and could not win this fight with just his Kalos Pokémon.

With tears in his eyes, Ash ordered Greninja to use smokescreen and returned the rest of his pokémon except Noivern. He got on its back and said:

"Fly Noivern. Fly as far away as you can."

Noivern nodded his head and took off at a speed that would make light jealous. Multiple attacks such as Growlithe's flamethrowers and Herdier's hyper beams were launched after them, but none hit their mark.

As Noivern flew into the distance, Ash looked back at the lab with tears in his eyes."I'm sorry everyone. I'll come get you one day. I promise."

* * *

 **So, I've updated this chapter as I feel as though it lacked in detail (it probably still does but meh) and I added in a new scene. Let me know what you guys think in the reviews, criticism is welcomed! Chapter 2 will be out tomorrow. After that I plan on releasing chapter 3, 4, and 5 in the three days after. I'll be looking for some Ocs to use so be sure to send me yours if you want it in this fic. I can't promise that I will use all of them but yo never know! Thanks for reading!**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello users of FanFiction! Before you read this chapter make sure you go back and take a look at chapter 1 as I have updated it recently. If you don't then a lot of things in this chapter won't make sense. I also need to say a big thank you! 15 favourites and 22 follows already! I am extremely grateful for the support that you guys are showing so early on. So, without further ado...let's go!**

* * *

"OK Noivern, that's far enough."

After escaping from the police force, Ash and his pokémon had flown north-east of Viridian. They were currently flying just to the east of Viridian Forest; there was no cities or towns there, which meant that there was no police.

Noivern performed a U-turn before nosediving towards the ground at a tremendous speed. They were mere inches from hitting the ground when Noivern pulled up and rose into the air again, this time at a much lower altitude.

Ash couldn't help but smile at his pokémon's antics. No matter how he was feeling, they always seemed to be able to cheer him up.

"Noivern, land in that clearing down there," Ash said as he pointed to a clearing down below.

Noivern screeched his name before slowly rising down to the ground. As they prepared to land, dust and leaves were sent flying by the powerful gusts formed from Noivern's wings.

"Thanks buddy, you were great. Now take a good rest," Ash whispered gently to his Noivern as he called him back to his pokéball.

Ash took a deep breath then focused on his surroundings. They were on the edge of a cornfield and were next to Viridian Forest. Looking the opposite direction to the forest, Ash could make out a small house and a barn in the distance – which would mean that this field belonged to a farmer.

' _Great'_ Ash thought _'Were trespassing on a farmer's field. Guess that means were 'breaking' the law again'._

"Come on Pikachu, let's find somewhere to set up camp."

"Pikapi," Pikachu said as he leapt onto Ash's shoulder.

They began to walk to the forest but were stopped by a wide river. The duo decided to follow the river downstream, in the direction of Pewter City.

* * *

They had been walking for about fifteen minutes before Ash decided that it was too dark to carry on walking. Ash proceeded to set up a small camp before calling out the rest of his pokémon.

He smiled as he looked over the few pokémon that he had remaining. Talonflame, Goodra, Greninja Noivern, Hawlucha and Pikachu were all lined up in front of him, all posing in different stances.

"Hey Talonflame, think you can light a small fire for me?" Ash asked his trusty fire flying type.

"Talon!" Talonflame released a small flame burst and a fire began to crackle steadily.

Ash thanked his bird pokémon before settling down in his sleeping bag.

A million thoughts and feelings rushed through his head as the emotional stress of the past week caught up to him. First, he was arrested upon arriving at his home region. Then, he was accused of murdering and abusing pokémon. In court, three of what he thought were his best friends had betrayed him and tried to get him arrested. But, what pained him the most was the fact that nobody had turned up to defend him. None of his other travelling partners, none of the gym leaders and elite four members that he had encountered on his journey. Nobody. He was grateful of course for Lucian's help, although in truth he did do very little. But at least he tried!

Tears began rolling down Ash's face and he made no attempt to cover them up. His pokémon exchanged worried glances with each other and, one by one, they curled up around their master. The person who had given them the most in life.

Ash stopped crying as he felt his pokémon huddle around him. "Thank you guys," He said in a barely audible whisper as he drifted to sleep.

* * *

Ash woke up to something wet and slimy slither down his face. He opened his eyes and noticed one of Goodra's antennae was on his face. He gently pushed it off and chuckled lightly at his pokémon. Ash stood up and skilfully manoeuvred his way through his sleeping pokémon. He stared out at the rising sun as he thought back to the previous day.

" _You have been charged with twenty four accounts of Pokémon abuse and eleven counts of Pokémon murder. You will serve four life sentences in prison_."

Officer Jenny's words circulated through his head. No matter how many times he replayed the scene in his mind, he could never bring himself to believe it was real.

Ash turned around as he noticed his pokémon wake from their slumber.

He smiled as he looked upon his friends. The only friends he had left apparently.

That thought made him frown. Not only had his old travelling friends abandoned him, all of his other pokémon were back at the professor's lab. He had to figure out a way to get them back.

His thinking bubble popped as a loud noise rose from his stomach. Ash rubbed his belly, embarrassed as his pokémon sniggered at him.

"Sorry guys, I've got no pokémon food. You'll have to find your own. Just don't go near the farmer's fie- you know what? Screw it, go in his fields if you want." Ash told his pokémon. "I've already broken the law anyway..." He mumbled to himself.

Ash settled down next to his sleeping bag as he pokémon went to find themselves some food. He was worried. He had no idea what to do, what to eat, where to go, or who to trust, if anyone.

He thought of his friends. Surely none of them believed that he was really guilty right? They were probably just too busy to come to the trial! That was all!

But then he thought of Brock, Gary, and Misty. They came to the trial, and they were all against him, so they must of thought that he was guilty.

That brought along another problem. Where did those pictures come from? The boy shown in them was clearly him, but the problem was that it wasn't him! Ash knew that he had never done harm to a pokémon, not intentionally anyway, so he had no clue how those pictures were taken. Was he being framed? The possibility was high, but by who?

Ash gripped his head in frustration. ' _Why is this happening to me?'_ He thought. ' _All I've ever done is help people, and I'm rewarded with this?'_

His thoughts were interrupted by something hitting the ground next to his feet. He looked at what it was and saw that it was half of a cooked magikarp. Looking up, he saw Talonflame smiling (if it can even do that) at him.

Ash smiled at his pokémon. "Thanks Talonflame. I haven't eaten yet," he said as he took a bite of the cooked magikarp.

It was reassuring having his pokémon care for him. It showed him that he wasn't alone. If it weren't for them he would probably just turn himself in.

After he was finished eating, Ash noticed that all his pokémon had returned and were waiting for him to do something. Ash decided that they should all have a say in what their next move would be. They were a team after all, everyone deserved their say.

"Alright everyone listen up! We have two options for what our next move is. One, we leave Kanto and find somewhere else to live, after getting my other pokémon back of course," Ash let the thought settle in before continuing, "Or two..." Ash took a deep breath, "we go and visit Brock in Pewter City. We try and persuade him that we're innocent, that we didn't commit those horrible crimes. Cheer for which choice you make."

The pokémon looked around at each other nervously. Ash let them settle before asking for an answer.

"Cheer if you vote choice one," he told them.

There was a pause before Greninja and Noivern cheered their respective names.

Ash nodded at them. "Cheer for choice two."

Pikachu, Hawlucha, Talonflame and Goodra all cheered their names confidently.

"It's settled then. We'll pack up camp and then try and persuade Brock that we're innocent," Ash smiled before telling his pokémon: "Thank you guys. You've really helped me out here. If it weren't for you guys I'd of given up a while ago. Now, return!" Ash returned all of his pokémon except for Greninja, Noivern, and Pikachu.

He slowly made his way to where Greninja and Noivern were stood. Ash looked both of them in the eye as he said, "Don't think that your vote was wasted. If this plan fails, then we'll use the other as a back-up." He then returned his pokémon.

Pikachu helped Ash clear the camp away before leaping onto his shoulder as they headed for Pewter City.

Ash was feeling oddly optimistic given his current situation. ' _Me and Brock have been friends for a long time. I'm sure that if I tell him the truth he'll believe me for sure!'_

"So buddy, you think Brock will believe us?"

"Pika pikachu!"

Ash smiled happily. "Yeah. Me too."

* * *

Any hope that Ash felt was soon dashed as he looked upon the stone gates of Pewter City. He didn't know if it was the huge, grey, stone walls or the immense number of people walking throughout the city, but something was very off putting.

He put up his hood so that nobody could see his face as he rushed through the city. Taking extra precaution, he told Pikachu to go in his bag so he wouldn't be seen. Deciding that it would be safer to stick to the back alleys rather than going through the town centre, Ash made his way to the gym in a short period of time.

As he stood at the gym gates, Ash had a flashback of his first time meeting Brock. At the time, Brock was the leader of the Pewter gym and had defeated Ash on his first attempt at a challenge. But, on Ash's second challenge, Ash managed to get a fluky victory because of the water sprinklers boosting Pikachu's thunderbolt power. Ash had declined the gym badge that Brock offered to him for his victory. He had thought that it was total luck that he had won, and that he didn't deserve the badge because of that. But Brock showed to Ash that there was more to a trainer than just beating leaders. He told Ash that to be a successful trainer you had to be honest, and trust in your pokémon. Brock believed that Ash had shown him those traits and he persisted on giving Ash the badge.

As he reflected on that memory, Ash's confidence boosted back up. He and Brock had been friends for years. Surely Brock would believe him.

He stepped through the gates and was about to knock on the door when he heard voices coming from around the back. Ash took a glance at who was talking and was surprised to see a lot more familiar faces than he had expected.

Stood at the back of the house was a total of eight people, all who Ash recognized. There was Brock, Flint (Brock's dad), Gary, and five other people.

One of them stood at around 5'7 and had messy blonde hair. He wore wide framed glasses and was dresses in a light blue jumpsuit. Ash had travelled with him throughout the Kalos region, and he happened to be one of the gym leaders – he specialised in electric types. He was also the same age as Ash, 16. This person's name was Clement.

Next to Clement, was a young girl who stood at 4'9. She had short blonde hair and sparkling blue eyes, which added to her youthful look. The girl was dressed in a brown T-shirt and a short white skirt. She also wore a pair of black shorts. Ash had travelled with her though Kalos and she was the little sister of Clement. She was 8 years old and went by then name of Bonnie.

Standing with them was also an attractive female who was about 5'6 in height. She had blue hair that went down to just past her shoulders and had affectionate, deep blue eyes. She worse a white beanie on her head, a black shirt and a short pink skirt. She had travelled through Sinnoh with Ash and he had been her tutor in many ways. Like Ash, she was 16. Her name was Dawn.

Standing opposite Dawn was a girl who was the same height as Clement. She had dark skin and bushy violet hair. She had brown, caring eyes and wore a baggy white shirt and white shorts that went just past her knees. She had a bright pink clothe wrapped around her waist. This girl had travelled with Ash throughout the Unova region and she aspired to be a dragon master. This girl was 17 and was named Iris.

The final person in the group was a male who stood at 6'1, making him the tallest in the group. His short hair was a lime green colour, as were his eyes. He wore a formal black and white tuxedo and a green bow-tie, which added to his rather posh look. He looked to be around 19 years old as his face looked young, but mature. Along with Iris, he had traversed the Unova region alongside Ash and Pikachu. This man was called Cilan.

Ash began to sweat as he looked at the group. You had only been anticipating to see Brock and maybe Flint. Not most of his former companions. He was about to walk away and rethink his plan when he heard Flint shout.

"Who's standin' over there? Come over here and talk to us!"

Ash gulped and before he new what he was doing, he began to walk towards the group.

' _Stay calm. Stay calm.'_ He told himself as he got closer to the group.

"State your business here," Flint demanded. "If you're here for a battle, the gym is closed right now."

Ash put on a deeper voice than normal before he spoke. "No, I don't want a battle. I came here to talk to Brock. Alone."

Many of the group rose their eyebrows at the strange way that the boy was acting but just shrugged it off.

"Anything you say to me can be heard by everyone here," Brock said in a friendly tone, but Ash could tell by his voice that he was still in shock from his pokémon's death.

"No, err… it really must be said in private," Ash countered.

Brock furrowed his brow but decided to go along with it. He followed Ash to the other side of the house before asking: "So, do you mind taking your hood down before we talk? I'd like to know who I'm talking too."

"OK. But before I do promise me you won't freak out," Ash began to get worried. What if his plan failed?

"I promise..."

Slowly, Ash pulled down his hood so that Brock could see his face.

Brock was at a loss for words. Here, stood before him, was the man who escaped the police. The man who killed his croagunk.

"You little..." Brock began as he prepared to punch Ash.

"Brock wait!"

The desperation in Ash's voice made Brock pause. He lowered his fist but still had it clenched, ready to punch.

"Talk," Brock said. "Give me one reason why I shouldn't get everyone over here and turn you in."

"Because I'm innocent."

As soon as the words left his mouth Brock's fist went flying into Ash's jaw. Ash crashed to the ground and held his jaw in pain. He saw Brock try and punch him again but the breeder became engulfed in shocking electricity.

"Pikapi!"

"Thanks Pikachu," Ash said, relief evident in his voice. He shakily stood up only to see the rest of the group come rushing around the corner.

"Brock we heard all of the commotion what's goi-," the bluenette's words were stopped as she saw Ash and Pikachu.

Ash looked at the faces of everyone. There was a mixture of emotions on their faces. The most dominant one was anger. Realising the situation would only get worse, Ash released Noivern and climbed on his back.

He was about to tell Noivern to take off when he heard Clement yell out.

"Ash wait!"

Ash's eyes flickered to the group as he said, "No matter what I say you will still hate me. Just let me leave."

"Why should we let you leave? You've murdered pokémon! You've-"

Iris' words were cut off by a bellowing voice.

"I DID NOT MURDER ANY POKÉMON."

Despite looking visibly shaken, Cilan managed to say, "We've all seen the evidence Ash! We saw what you did to those pokémon!"

Something inside Ash triggered at those words. An emotion he had never felt before rose to the surface. A primal instinct overtook him. He leapt off of Noivern and ran up to Cilan, shoving him to the floor. Ash then proceeded to grab him around the throat and strangle him with strength that he never knew he had.

"I...did...not...harm...any...pokémon..."

He would of killed Cilan right on the spot if Flint hadn't of tackled him to the ground. The older man tried to pin Ash down, but he found himself being overpowered by the teenager.

Fuelled by anger, Ash threw Flint a good 20 feet away. It was at this point that Ash realised his hands were glowing with a bright blue tinge. He looked up to see the others staring at him in fear. and horror. He looked at his pokémon. Pikachu and Noivern were not scared, nor were they horrified.

They were worried about what had overtaken their master.

Ash looked at the faces of his partners and instantly calmed down. The blue tinge died down and his hands returned to normal. Ash ran back to his pokémon and leapt onto Noivern's back.

"Pikachu, on my shoulder. Noivern, Let's go."

Noivern blasted into the sky at a speed that would rival light. They were instantly out of the sight of Ash's 'friends'.

"Sorry if I scared you guys back there," Ash said soothingly to his pokémon. "I don't know what came over me."

Pikachu and Noivern simple rubbed him with their heads, making Ash smile.

"You guys sure know how to make me smile."

The group had flown to route 4 on the west side of Cerulean City. After his failure with Brock, Ash and his team had decided to try and reason with Misty instead. She always secretly had a soft spot for Ash and he intended to use that to his advantage.

Before entering Cerulean City, Ash recalled Noivern, told Pikachu to get back in his bag, and put up his hood so nobody could see his face. He then strolled through the gates.

Cerulean was truly a beautiful city to behold. The aqua blue houses were a treat for the eyes and the small rivers that flowed down the streets gave the city a serene feeling. The whole city was like this. Cerulean was known to be the tourist hotspot for the Kanto region and it really was no wonder why.

Despite his situation, Ash was mesmerised by a dewgong leaping in and out of the water. Many people from the city gave Ash strange looks as he just stood there and stared at the marine pokémon.

"May I help you?"

A kind and comforting voice broke Ash out of his trance and back to reality. He turned around to see the person that he had been looking for. Stood next to him was Misty, the Cerulean gym leader.

She noticed him staring at her and quickly rephrased her question. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to sound rude. You just don't seem to be from around here and you looked lost so I thought that I would come help," she said with a smile.

"Your generosity is appreciated," Ash replied in his fake voice. Misty hadn't seemed to notice that it was him, even though she had looked directly at his face. "But I actually came here to speak with you."

"Oh, really?" Misty asked, being caught slightly off guard, "Did you come for a gym battle?"

"No. I came for a more personal issue. May we go somewhere more private?"

"O…Okay," Misty responded being caught off guard again. "Let's go to the gym. Some of my friends are there but they wouldn't mind giving us some space for a while."

Ash just nodded his head as he followed the redhead to the Cerulean gym.

* * *

Five minutes later the pair had arrived at the gym. It was exactly the same as Ash remembered it. Pink and orange dome roof with a massive dewgong on the front.

As they walked into the gym Ash heard a familiar voice that made him cringe.

"Misty!"

Ash turned around to see a girl who was about 5'5 tall with long brown hair. The brunette had a red bandanna tied around her head and had a matching red outfit on. Ash had travelled with her and her little brother through the Hoenn and Kanto regions whilst he was challenging the pokémon league and the battle frontier. The girl was the same age as Ash and was called May.

"Oh, hi May!" Misty called to the brunette girl.

"Who's you friend here?" May asked while tilting her head. "He looks...familiar."

"This is..." Misty paused, "Actually, what is your name?" she asked Ash.

"Oh...err...just call me..." Ash tried to think of a name that wouldn't alarm the girls, "Gary."

' _Yeah good idea. Go and use the name of one of their friends.'_ Ash thought to himself.

"Gary? We have a friend named that," replied the redhead.

"That's...cool," Ash responded nervously.

"So Gary, what did you come to talk about?"

Ash could feel the sweat forming on his neck as Misty asked that question. He was fearful of what her response to him would be. Would she act like Brock and attack him? Ash knew one thing about women. Don't give them a reason to hurt you. It won't end well.

Ash inhaled sharply before saying, "Promise me you won't freak out when I tell you this."

"OK...we promise," both girls said as they briefly exchanged a look.

Ash pulled down his hood and waited for a response. He looked at their faces but was confused by what he saw.

"Your...not mad? Or at least surprised?" he asked.

"We knew it was you Ash. Brock called us and told us what you did to him. It was obvious you would target Misty next," May told the raven haired trainer.

"So we got some help ready for when you came," Misty said a little too excitedly. "Officer! He's here!"

The colour drained from Ash's face as he realised that he'd been ambushed. He turned around to see Officer Jenny and her colleagues releasing their pokémon.

"Hawlucha, Greninja! Come on out!" Ash released his two Kalos pokémon as he formulated an escape plan.

"Ash Ketchum return your pokémon or we will shoot," Officer Jenny said as she raised her gun at Ash and his pokémon. "You have escaped us once and we will not be fooled again. Recall your pokémon."

"Greninja smokescreen!"

A black cloud of smoke left the ninja-frog's mouth and soon the entire gym was full of the gas. Ash quietly ordered Hawlucha to break the wall of the gym so they could escape. Hawlucha smashed the wall with a powerful high jump kick and ran outside.

"Fire at will! Don't let them escape!" yelled Officer Jenny as she and the other officers began to shoot in the direction they thought Ash was.

Ash told his pokémon to run as he turned around and ran towards Hawlucha's hole. He could hear gunshots ring out behind him and felt a bullet narrowly miss his back. As Ash was about to leave the gym, he heard a cry coming from his Greninja. Ash located Greninja in the smoke and swiftly recalled him to his ball.

The smoke began to clear and the officers could see no sign of Ash or his pokémon. Jenny noticed the hole that Hawlucha had created and cursed under her breath. She then proceeded to leave through the gap in the wall and saw Ash running away in the distance, too far for her to run after him.

"Set up a perimeter around the city! Do not let Ketchum get away!" she yelled to the other policemen.

"Ma'am, you might want to take a look at this," one of the officers told Jenny.

"What is it?" she asked as she made her way over to the man.

"Blood, and it's green so it isn't human. We believe that one of the boy's pokémon were hit."

Jenny smirked. "Good. Make sure we set up some officers at the Pokémon Centre. Ketchum will need to pay it a little visit for his pokémon."

* * *

 **Well, there's chapter 2. Sorry I didn't release this yesterday like I said, my wifi was acting up so I couldn't get online. Leave a review down below and let me know what you thought about this chapter. Also, I am accepting Ocs for later in the story so PM me yours if you want it included. Thanks for reading, bye for now.**


	3. Chapter 3

**So, here's chapter three. I want to take the time to thank you all for the support shown for this story so far. It really means a lot to me that you take the time out of your day to read something that I have created. It would mean a lot if the support for this continued, so remember to follow, favourite and review! So, without further ado, here's chapter three…**

* * *

Ash ran north. He didn't know where he was going, he just had to get away from the police and the city. He also had to find somewhere where he could look at Greninja's injury.

Ash risked a glance over his shoulder and was surprised to see that he wasn't being followed. He noticed that the number of buildings around him had began to decrease, so Ash concluded that he was near the edge of the city.

He began to slow his pace to a light jog. If he wasn't being followed then there was no need to use up his energy. Determined not to be caught in another ambush, Ash started to take in his surroundings more carefully. There didn't seem to be anything suspicious about the area he was in, but then again, there didn't seem to be anything suspicious about Misty and her gym and look at how that turned out.

Ash took a moment to reflect on what had transpired minutes ago. The more that he thought about it, the more he realised how naive he was. Of course Brock would've contacted Misty about what happened, they were as close as anyone. Ash also realised how careless he had been when approaching Brock and the others. He should've taken more care when revealing his identity.

Ash knew that he would have to smarten himself up if he was going to stay out of prison.

"Pika?"

Ash looked over his shoulder and at his bag, where he saw Pikachu sticking his head out in a questioning manner.

"Whoops, sorry buddy. Forgot you were still in there," Ash said as he pulled his partner out of his bag.

He continued to go in the direction that he thought the exit to the city was until Pikachu's cheeks began sparking.

"Something wrong Pikachu?"

Ash followed Pikachu's gaze and noticed about five or six police officers stood around the Northern Cerulean gates.

"So they put the city on lock down...great..." Ash then realised that if one of the officers saw Pikachu then his cover would be blown.

"Hey Pikachu, can you go back in the bag? If one of the officers sees you..." Ash trailed off as he noticed that Pikachu was no longer on his shoulder.

"Pikachu? Where'd you go?" Ash looked around in puzzlement.

"Pikapi!"

Ash quickly spun around to face the direction that he heard Pikachu shout from. His eyes found an alleyway tucked in between what few buildings there were this far up in the city. He ran down the alley and stopped when he saw a man with his back turned to Ash.

The man wore a long, brown trench coat and black, baggy trousers. His shoes were also black. Since his back was turned to Ash, Ash could not see his face. He could however, see the man's jet black hair. In the man's grasp was an angry looking Pikachu.

"Alright what's going on? Why'd you take Pikachu and who are you?" Ash demanded. The man didn't look like a police officer so Ash was angry, and confused.

The man in question slowly turned around so Ash could see his face. As soon as he saw it, Ash reached for a pokéball and was about to release Hawlucha when the man spoke.

"Relax Ash. I'm not here to fight or arrest you," the man spoke in a level-headed tone.

"Looker, I know you work for the international police. I know that you're trying to trick me," Ash responded in an angry tone. "Hand over Pikachu or else."

To Ash's surprise, Looker did let Pikachu go, who quickly ran to Ash's side and began charging up a thunderbolt.

"I told you Ash. I don't want to fight or arrest you."

"Then what do you want?" Ash queried, making sure he didn't let his guard down.

"I want to help you," Looker said firmly as he looked Ash in the eye. "I know you didn't commit those crimes. Only an expert, like myself, could notice that those pictures were faked."

Ash was in two minds as to whether or not he believed Looker. On one hand, Looker was an agent on the international police so he could easily be trying to trick Ash. But on the other hand, the look that he was giving Ash spoke no lies. He seemed to be telling the truth.

"If you really want to help me, then find a way out of this city for me. There're guards everywhere," Ash was still unsure if he could trust Looker or not, but it was worth a shot. After all, he had no other chance of leaving Cerulean. It would be too risky to fly away and there were police officers everywhere.

"Now that one's easy. I'll distract the officers, you run."

Ash narrowed his eyes at the older man. "That seems _too_ easy. How do I know that you won't tell them where I am?"

"You don't. You just have to trust me."

Ash sighed. What other choice did he have? "OK. I'll trust you. But one wrong move and you'll have my pokémon to answer to."

"Alright then, let's not waste any time. I will tell the officers that you went in another direction. You take the chance to run. Got it?"

Ash nodded his head in agreement. He had a bad feeling about this.

The two made their way to the end of the alleyway and stopped when Looker raised his hand and said, "On my signal, run. Don't look back, just keep on running."

"OK, got it."

The international police officer quickly dashed out of his cover and back onto the streets of Cerulean. As he approached the officers at the gate, Ash put Pikachu back into his bag.

"I sure hope this works buddy. Looker seems safe to trust, but you never know any more..." Ash told Pikachu with a slightly depressed tone. He then hid Pikachu in his backpack once again.

Ash stole a glance around the corner of the alleyway and saw Looker talking with the police guards. He was pointing in the opposite direction with one hand, presumably telling the police that Ash went that way, and the officers seemed to be buying his act.

Then, all of a sudden, the police ran in the direction that Looker was pointing in. Looker quickly made a hand gesture signalling Ash to run to the Cerulean exit. And he did just that.

He arrived at the exit in mere seconds and said to Looker, "Thank you. You have no idea how much this means to me Looker. You're the only person, other than mom, who's stood by me through this," Ash then held out his hand for Looker to shake, but the gesture was not returned. He also noticed Looker staring at something behind his back.

"Something wrong?" Ash asked as he turned around, only to have a blinding pain hit him in the back. He fell to the ground in shock and pain and noticed Looker standing over him.

"I'm sorry Ash. I really am. I want to believe that you're innocent, but the proof says otherwise," the police agent began.

"What? I thought you were on my side?" Ash asked, trying to ignore the immense amount of pain that he was feeling. Whatever had hit him sure packed a punch.

Looker put on a genuine frown. "It was all a lie I'm afraid. I'm sorry Ash, but I have to take you in."

"Then why didn't you just tell the police where I was?"

Looker sighed. "The regular police force and the international police do not get along very well. You will be put into an international police prison."

"What? Why? Why take me in to a special prison?" Ash was in serious danger of passing out soon. He was struggling to stay conscious, that hit must've been more than just a punch.

"The international police are well aware of your achievements. A regular prison is not secure for a trainer of your calibre," Looker told Ash as he pulled him to his feet.

Ash then noticed a croagunk stood lazily a few feet away from him. He figured that the croagunk was the one who had hit him in the side.

Looker was about to handcuff Ash when they were both struck by a powerful thunderbolt. Both of them went down instantly.

While laying on the ground, Ash was drifting in and out of consciousness. He was aware of what seemed to be a pokémon battle going on, but he wasn't sure. All of a sudden, the action stopped. The last thing Ash saw was Pikachu's worried face before he passed out.

* * *

Everything ached. He opened his eyes but was forced to shut them immediately, as a huge white light shone down on his face. He groaned in pain and became aware of something sat on his chest. Squinting through the light, he smiled when he realised it was a sleeping Pikachu.

"Ah, good. You're awake."

Ash froze when he heard the voice. He didn't recognize it, but he could tell that they had a pretty strong Johtoan accent (think of a Johtoan accent as a typical British accent). Ash attempted to sit up, but two hands pushed him back down again.

"Don't waste your energy. The poison and burns have taken their toll on you. You should rest up before moving again."

"W...who..." Ash tried to speak, but his throat was painfully dry.

Noticing his discomfort, the stranger said, "Hold on a second, I'll go and get you some water."

As the man left the room, Ash took his time to take in his surroundings. In the corner of the room was a strange machine with flashing red lights. The machine seemed to be hooked up to a generator of some kind. On the other side of the room, there was an expensive looking computer with a stack of papers next to it. There was also a small kitchen and a TV.

Ash nodded as he took all of this in. It didn't seem as though he was in a prison of any kind. So where was he?

"Here you go."

Ash turned to the voice and saw a man who was probably a good 10 years older than him. He had curvy brown hair and intelligent brown eyes. He seemed to have a calm, yet serious, face and looked as though he spent a lot of his time indoors. The man was holding a glass of water out to Ash, which he gladly took.

Ash greedily gulped down the water and let out a satisfied sigh. He then turned to the man and asked, "OK, who are you and where am I?"

The man nodded his head as he said, "My name is Bill, and you are currently situated in my bed, at my house."

Ash took a moment to digest this information before speaking again. "So, what happened? How did I end up here?"

"Now, now. Before I tell you any more, how about you tell me your name, and why you were poisoned and burnt?"

Ash sighed. Did this man really not know who he was? He'd of thought by now that everyone in all the region's knew him. "My name is Ash Ketchum. And I honestly have no idea why I was poisoned or burnt."

If the man was irritated by Ash's vague response, he did a good job at hiding it. "You have no idea you say? OK then, ask me what you want to know."

"How did I end up here?" Ash asked.

"I was talking a walk, trying to figure something out about clefairy, when I saw an impressively tall goodra walking towards me with an injured boy in it's arms. I ran over to the goodra to check on the boy, who later turned out to be you, but was stopped by an angry looking pikachu," Bill gestured to the sleeping Pikachu on Ash's chest, "I managed to convince the pokémon that I wanted to help, and they eventually let me. I brought you back to my house and now here we are."

Ash thought for a moment. He figured that Pikachu had released Goodra so he could help carry him away. But what happened to Looker? Was he still in Cerulean? Thinking of the man, a look of disgust came over Ash's face. ' _Just another backstabber'_ Ash thought. ' _I wonder who's next...'_

"Where are my pokémon?" Ash asked randomly.

"They are all recovering over there in that healing machine, though your Pikachu refused to go in it's pokéball. I must say, your pokémon are all mighty fine specimens. You sure have raised them well. And as for your Greninja's bullet wound..."

Ash's eyes widened in guilt as soon as Bill mentioned Greninja. He had completely forgot to check how he was!

"Is he alright?" Ash asked, his voice full of desperation.

"Yes. The injury wasn't fatal but the wound could be there for some time. Thankfully, the bullet passed straight through it's tongue and didn't get lodged inside. Now then, tell me. Why _were_ you poisoned and burnt and why was your Greninja shot?"

Ash started to think for a second. If he told Bill that he was on the run from the police, he would surely turn him in. But, he had no other story to tell, and he wasn't very good at lying.

"Fine then. Just promise you won't flip out." ' _If I had a nickel every time I said that...'_ Ash thought to himself.

"I promise."

Ash then explained his entire situation to Bill. From someone obviously setting him up, to the betrayal off his friends, and to the backstabbing Looker. Ash became quite emotional when talking about him not being able to retrieve his other pokémon.

"...and that's how I ended up here," Ash finished. He looked up at Bill, and was surprised to see that he only had an eyebrow raised in curiosity.

"Now that is a tough situation."

"Tell me about it..." Ash muttered. "So, you gonna turn me in or not? If you are, let's just get this out of the way."

Bill seemed to be deep in thought for a moment before responding, "No, I won't turn you in. But as soon as you are rested up, you must go. I won't have my reputation ruined by harbouring an outlaw."

Ash nodded his head in agreement. "Seems fair. But seriously, thank you Bill. You have no idea how much you're helping me out."

The two made small talk for the rest of the evening, before it struck 10pm. Bill set up a sleeping bag and slept on the floor, insisting that Ash stay in the bed. During their conversations, Bill had learned of all of Ash's league accomplishments and pokémon that he had captured. Ash had learnt that Bill was a scientist specialising in pokémon biology. He also learned that Bill had created the pokémon storage device.

* * *

The next few days went by pretty quickly for Ash. He still lacked energy which meant that he couldn't run away, so he ended up doing things that he never fathomed he would do. Ash spent most of his time either reading books, something that he had never really done before, or helping Bill with some easy science experiments.

Over the course of these days, Ash had been thinking a lot about what his next move would be. As much as it pained him to say it, going back for his other pokémon was not an option. He had no doubts that they were all being kept under heavy surveillance so attempting to retrieve them would be a suicide mission.

After consulting with his pokémon, the group had decided one thing. That none of them knew what to do.

Ash had thought of going to see his mom to let her know that he was ok, but like everything else, it was too risky.

* * *

The day had come. Ash and his team had fully recovered and were now ready to leave Bill's house. He had given them enough food and water to last a week, for which Ash was very grateful.

"So Ash, what's your next move?" Although the researcher was glad to be getting rid of the outlaw, he was going to miss his company.

"Honestly Bill, I have no idea. I don't even know how I'm gonna survive. I won't be able to go to any stores to buy food, and I've got no place to stay."

"Have you thought about going to visit your mom? I'm sure she's worried about you."

"I know she will be, and it kills me to say this, but I can't go see her. It's too risky," Ash replied with a voice full of regret.

"While that is true, I still think you should go see her. She's your mother. She brought you into this world and she deserves to know that you're ok," the researcher told Ash, a little more forcefully than he had intended.

Ash was taken aback by this. Was Bill right? Should he go see his mom? Of course Bill was right. He had to let his mom know that he was ok.

"You know what Bill? You're right. Even if it ends in me getting my ass hauled to prison, I have to let her know that I'm fine."

At this, Bill simply smiled.

Ash turned to leave but the thought struck him like one of Pikachu's thunderbolts. How hadn't he thought of this before? If Bill invented pokémon transfers...he could get Ash his other pokémon back!

"Hey Bill, think you could do something really big for me?" Ash asked excitedly.

"Other than harbouring a fugitive, sure. Depends on what it is. I don't want to end up spending my life in prison."

"You invented the pokémon transfer storage right?" Excitement was radiating off of Ash. If he could get his pokémon back, surviving would be so much easier!

"Right..." Bill replied, unsure of where this was going.

"So you can get into the storage system right?"

"Yeah..." Bill hoped that Ash wasn't thinking what he was.

"So can you get my other pokémon out of it?" Ash asked extremely quickly.

Bill sighed. "I'm sorry Ash, but no. I can't."

"What? Why not? Bill, this is my one chance of getting my family back together. Please. For me."

"Pika, pikapika" Pikachu also attempted to plead.

"I said no Ash. It would endanger my career and reputation. Don't you think that they would notice if your pokémon were missing? It's way too risky. I'm sorry Ash, but no. I wish you the best of luck in the rest of you life." And with that, Bill simply closed the door on Ash.

Ash was speechless. He had really thought that Bill would help him. But, he did see where Bill was coming from… It would endanger his career. Ash was suddenly struck by a wave of guilt, asking such a dangerous favour from someone he barely knew.

But then again, Ash himself had done dangerous tasks for people that he had never even met in person before. He had saved the world countless times, putting his own life on the line whilst doing it.

All of Ash's guilt quickly turned to anger. Anger at Bill for not helping him. Anger at the world for betraying him. He looked at Pikachu, who was in his usual place on Ash's shoulder, and saw that he had the same feelings as Ash did. Although he did not yet know it, something in Ash's head changed. Something that would lead him down a dark path if it was not prevented.

* * *

Even though he was beyond angry at him, Ash decided to take the researcher's advice and go visit his mother. Though his plan was going to be a lot more brutal than originally thought. He wasn't thinking straight. Anger was consuming him bit by bit. Nothing would stop him from seeing the one shred of hope left in his life. Ash had to see his mom, at all costs.

As he flew over Route 1, Ash thought about what he was about to do. ' _Police will be all over Pallet. When they see my flying on Noivern, all hell's gonna break loose. Better be ready.'_

A shout was heard from below, which was followed by more shouts and screams.

' _Right on cue'_ Ash thought with a smirk.

"Alright Noivern, descend!" Ash told his faithful dragon.

Noivern quickly swooped down and Ash and Pikachu had to hold on for dear life. When they were low enough, Ash leaped off of Noivern and landed on his feet. He then proceeded to release all of his Kalos pokémon.

"Alright guys, this is gonna be chaos. Can you try and protect me while I get to mom's house?" Even through the anger that he was feeling, Ash could never be mad at his pokémon. They were everything to him.

His pokémon all yelled their names respectively and got into battle stances. They were willing to give anything and everything for their trainer.

With his pokémon stood protectively around him, Ash began to make his way through Pallet. It wasn't long before the group came across their first obstacle, a police blockade.

"Ash Ketchum you are und-," one of the policemen began, only to be cut off by Ash.

"And I'm under arrest? I've heard it all before. Now come get me."

The police officers were at first surprised by the boy's cocky attitude, but soon began yelling orders at their pokémon, which were mainly growlithes, arcanines, and herdiers.

"Greninja Water Shuriken, Hawlucha Flying Press, Noivern, Boomburst, Talonflame Flamethrower, Goodra Dragon Pulse, Pikachu Thunderbolt!" Ash had no time to waste as he deftly commanded his pokémon.

Pokémon attacks from both sides began firing everywhere. Ash had no doubt that the whole town of Pallet was aware of what was happening, he even saw a few of the town's younger trainers helping out the police.

Taking advantage of the commotion, Ash told his pokémon to fight for themselves while he went to check on his mother. Pikachu hopped onto his shoulder, and the two left the others to distract the police.

As he ran through the streets of Pallet, Ash thought about what he would say when he found his mom. Would she believe he was innocent? Surely she would, she was his mother after all. But he also thought he friends wouldn't betray him and look how that turned out…

Ash stopped running as he spotted his own house in front of him. On any other day, he would've taken the time to take in the beauty of his small home, but he had no time. It wouldn't be long before his pokémon all fainted.

He burst through the door and came face to face with possibly the only person who still fully believed in him. Delia Ketchum, his mother.

Both of the Ketchums stood in silence as they stared at each other, neither of them trusting that their eyes were working correctly. After two minutes of silence, Ash spoke up.

"Mom I-" his words were cut off as he was quickly enveloped in a bone-shattering hug.

"It's okay Ash. I know you're not guilty. I know you would never do those things," his mother told him through many sobs.

Ash allowed himself a small smile. Looks like someone did still believe in him after all.

"Mom, I have to go soon. I can't risk staying here for long. I just had to check on you," each word that came out of his mouth pained Ash greatly. He would have to leave the one person that he cared for behind.

Delia put on an obviously faked smile as she said, "I know Ash. It's ok."

But then Ash was struck with a thought. He turned to Pikachu and asked, "Hey buddy, think Noivern can carry me and Mom?"

"Pika pikapi!" the small rodent cried.

Ash put on the first genuine smile that he had in a while as he turned to his mother. "What do you say mom? Wanna come with me?"

He was answered with another bone-shattering hug.

"Of course I do," was the short worded answer that he received.

Ash became serious again as he thought about what to do. "Alright then mom, there's no time to pack anything, sorry. We have to go now. There's no time to waste."

His mother simply nodded in response. The pair were about to leave when Delia remembered something.

"What about ?" she quickly asked her son.

"You go and find him, I'll get his pokéball," Ash answered.

While Delia checked the lower floor of the house, Ash ran upstairs to get 's pokéball. Ash knew that the ball was in his mom's room, on the cabinet next to her bed. He quickly made his way to his mother's bedroom, only to be thrown to the ground by a huge explosion.

His body screamed with pain as he hit the laminate floor. He felt a hot liquid dribble from his forehead, after wiping it with his hand he found that it was blood. Ash forced himself to stand up, his ears ringing like a church bell. With blurred vision, Ash glanced around for Pikachu. He sighed with relief when he saw his partner sitting down, seemingly unharmed.

After picking up the mouse, Ash looked around him and was horrified with what he saw. The back half of the house had been blown up. There was debris laying everywhere and it was a miracle that nothing had impaled him. A scream cut through the air. Ash's eyes widened with fear as he heard the familiar voice. He bolted down the stairs, which were surprisingly undamaged, and into the kitchen where he saw an image that would forever be burned into him mind.

Laying down on the ground, was his mom. A sharp piece of jagged metal was sticking through her stomach. Around her, were various pieces of what looked like 's arms and legs.

Ash felt his stomach tighten into a knot as he ran over to his fallen mother. Panic was rising in his chest as he kneeled over her, deciding what to do.

"Mom! Can you hear me?" Mom?" Ash was sobbing uncontrollably at this point. He could see the huge puddles of blood through his mother's clothing. He knew that this was bad.

' _Should I pull out the metal?'_ he thought, trying to remember what Professor. Oak had taught him about first aid. ' _No, that will kill her instantly.'_

He was clueless. Ash knew no way to help the woman who had given him so much. The person who had believed in him no matter what the situation. His mother was going to die, and it was all his fault.

"Ash..."

The voice was short and quiet, and Ash had to check twice to make sure he wasn't hearing things. He looked down at the dying woman as she smiled up at him.

"It's...it's not your fault," she managed to say sweetly. "Just...just know that I...I still believe in you. And I will always...no...no...matter what."

And with those words, her eye's rolled back in her head. The once energetic, bubbly, caring person that Ash knew so well was gone. And it was all his fault.

It was at this point that Ash snapped. He fully realised what was overtaking him, and he gladly accepted it. The lust for revenge. He wouldn't stop until he got revenge. Revenge on everyone that had betrayed him. Revenge on everyone that had turned their back on him. Revenge on everyone that had killed his mother.

Gently closing her eyes with his fingers, Ash leant his mother on the ground. He stood up and dusted himself off.

"How touching. What a shame. Sorry that Stoutland's Hyper Beam went off course," a mocking, feminine voice cut through the air.

Ash spun on his heels to the direction of the voice, only to come face to face with the Officer Jenny from Cerulean. It was strange that Cerulean City's Officer Jenny was in Pallet Town, but frankly Ash didn't care.

"You killed her," his voice was emotionless as he said those words.

Jenny laughed playfully at him. "No Ash. You killed her. If you had of just turned yourself in, she would never have died."

Ash clenched his fists in rage. This woman was mocking his mother's death.

"Pikachu, Thunderbolt. Hold nothing back."

But, to his surprise, his ever-obedient pokémon did not launch it's attack. Ash looked down at his Pikachu and stared into his eyes. It was strange, normally Ash would have a vague idea of what Pikachu was telling him, but in this case, he could see clearly what his pokémon was saying.

' _Don't let the anger overtake you. You know it isn't what she would have wanted'_

Ash sighed through shaky breaths as he silently agreed with his pokémon. As sweet as revenge sounded, it wasn't the right thing to do.

"Thunderbolt on the ground Pikachu."

This time, his pokémon obeyed and launched a huge bolt of lightning at the ground, covering the area with smoke.

* * *

As Ash and Pikachu fled, Officer Jenny simply smiled to herself. She stood over Delia's body and kicked it with her foot.

She looked into the sky, only to see a Noivern and it's trainer fly off into the distance.

She began to laugh like a maniac and was soon laughing uncontrollably on the floor.

After a few minutes of the psychopathic behaviour, she stood up and dusted herself off.

"Mission complete."

* * *

 **So, what do you all think? I'm quite happy with the way that this chapter turned out. Next chapter there will be a time skip and we can get into the good stuff.**

 **I had a review asking if I will respond to messages and other reviews. I will most likely answer all question's asked when we get to about chapter 5/6 unless it is to clear up confusion.**

 **Please, remember to follow, favourite, and review, and I'll see you guys next time!**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hello readers of FanFiction! Before we start I need to ask a question. Do you guys want me to keep this long of chapters with the same update time? Or do you want longer chapters with more time between each update? Let me know in a pm or a review!**

 **I thought that I would answer a few of the questions that I was asked, so here you go!**

Will Ash have any friends in this story? It seems unrealistic that they would ALL abandon him.

 **Answer: Without giving too much away, all I will say is that Ash wasn't abandoned by everyone. But that doesn't mean he will have friends. You'll just have to wait and see…**

Will Ash get his other pokémon back?

 **Answer: Maybe. I have a few plans, but I'm not saying that his pokémon will be returned to him.**

Will Ash get a harem and a Lucario like other stories?

 **Answer: NO! I personally hate it when the cliché, overused pokémon are used. And as said in the summary, there will be no shippings in this story.**

What new pokémon will Ash get?

 **Answer: I haven't planned on Ash getting any new pokémon, it seems unrealistic that he would considering he has no way of buying more pokéballs. But I am open to suggestions of ways that he could possibly get a new pokémon.**

 **So, without further ado… I present to you, chapter 4.**

* * *

 _6 years later…_

As usual, he was awoken by the stagnant water dripping from the stalactites on the cave roof. He slowly rose from his sleeping position, his joints cracking as he did so, and stretched himself off.

The man made his way to the mouth of the cave and stepped outside. He was met with a crisp, winter breeze, which refreshed him from his current exhausted state. He sighed contently as he surveyed his surroundings.

He was in a small meadow, it couldn't of been any larger than fifty metres each way, surrounded by many different types of trees, bushes, and pokémon. The meadow was closed off on three sides by the face of the mountain, the north side however, was completely open. It was sloped in a way of which nobody could even think of climbing it.

The man walked over to said side of the meadow, and gazed out over the fast stretch of ocean before him. The salty sea air struck him in the face, making his eyes water slightly. He exhaled deeply, taking the time to reflect on his previous day. After around twenty minutes of looking out over the sea, the man turned back to the meadow and began foraging for his breakfast. He picked out a few oran and sitrus berries, then proceeded to sit down by the trunk of the meadow's biggest tree and began to eat.

After finishing his simple breakfast, the man moved his body into a yoga position and began to meditate. He listened to the songs of the trees and the grass, he listened to the voices of the sea, and he listened to the whispers of the wind. Here, he was at peace. This was where he belonged, alongside mother nature. Nobody would take his attention away from nature's beautiful symphony. Or no human that is…

"Pikapi!"

The man's eyes snapped open, only to see a small, yellow blur leap onto his shoulder. He smiled as he gently scratched the pokémon behind it's ears. After years of practise, he finally knew exactly where his partner enjoyed being groomed.

"Hey there Pikachu, sleep well?" the man asked his pokémon in a deep, yet gentle, voice.

"Pika pipika."

A loud rumble, followed by a series of crashes and bangs was heard from the cave. The man chuckled as he saw his Greninja and Goodra clumsily fall through the cave mouth and into the meadow.

"Will you two ever stop fighting?" he asked with fake annoyance, humour evident in his tone.

All he got for a reply was a few moans and groans from his two companions.

The man rose to his feet and made his way back over too the exposed side of the meadow. He stared out at the open ocean, letting his mind wander into places he rarely explored.

"Pikapi?" Pikachu asked his master, obviously concerned with his unusual behaviour.

The man sighed. "Sorry buddy, it's just that time of the year again. I can't help but think of her pal, ya know?"

Pikachu simply nodded sadly. He, too, knew how his trainer was feeling. Like his master, Pikachu missed the woman who was forced out of their lives so cruelly.

"No point dwelling on the past though," the man said in a fake cheerful voice. Pikachu decided not to push the matter further, knowing that it would only make his trainer depressed.

The duo turned around to face the cave, and were met by the rest of the man's pokémon team. Lined up in front of them was an incredibly powerful team. They were: Greninja – the stealthiest and fastest of the team, Goodra – the teams main powerhouse, Talonflame – the most manoeuvrable and precise member of the squad, Hawlucha – the most prideful and unrelenting battler, Noivern – the most versatile and obedient of them all, and to top it off, Pikachu leapt down to join his teammates. He was the squad's captain, and by far the strongest among them.

The man smiled at his faithful companions. Apart from Pikachu, they had all been with him for around seven years now, and not once had any of them ever doubted or turned their backs on him. He was extremely grateful to have such loyal pokémon.

The pokémon had similar thoughts about their trainer. Not once had any of them ever thought about leaving the kind-hearted male. He had trained them to be the strongest of the strong, maybe even possessing power greater than legends, and for that, they would be ever grateful.

"So," the man said as he clapped his hands together, "who's ready for some training?"

The pokémon all cried out in unison and the squad began to work on their accuracy and power. They worked relentlessly through the day, only stopping for food and water breaks. This was how they had spent every day of the past six years.

None of them knew what they were training for, not even the trainer knew, but nevertheless, they always put in 100% effort. It just seemed like the right thing to do. Training was their life. None of them knew why, but that was just how it was.

* * *

The next morning, the trainer began his usual daily routine. Only this time, as he was looking out over the ocean, he spotted something that he had never seen before. A ship.

The waters of this particular ocean were often too rough to even think about sailing on, not to mention the amount of powerful gyarados and sharpedo that lived there. All through the past six years, not once had he seen a single vessel out at sea.

He briefly wondered if he had been discovered, but quickly scribbled out that possibility. It would've been impossible to track him to his current location, he had made sure that no leads were left as to his current whereabouts.

Taking precautions, the trainer ducked down behind an old oak tree so he wouldn't be spotted. He looked around the side of the tree at the sea vessel, and became alarmed when he saw a man on the deck point in his direction.

The trainer ran across the meadow and to the mouth of the cave. He quickly called for his pokémon, who all came to him in a matter of seconds, and ran back over to the cliff. As he looked out at the sea, he noticed a pidgeot flying right at him.

Memories of an old friend flooded his mind as the trainer studied the magnificent bird pokémon, but he quickly snapped to attention.

"Everyone on your guard. If it gets too close, attack it," the trainer commanded his pokémon with unquestionable confidence.

His faithful companions got into their respective battle positions and awaited the pidgeot to make a move. However, they were surprised when, instead of flying at the group, the pidgeot performed a swift rise and began circling above them. It was at this point that the trainer noticed that the bird pokémon was holding something in it's talons.

"Team, calm down. I don't think it's here for a fight."

His pokémon all relaxed, but remained alert in case the pidgeot tried to pull something.

A loud squawk was heard from the avian, and then it dropped the item in it's claws. Then the bird made a U-turn and headed back towards the ship.

The trainer watched the item fall and soon identified it as a letter of some sort. When the mail hit the ground, he walked over to it and picked it up.

"Hey Talonflame, think you could watch the ship and make sure it doesn't sail away?" the trainer asked his flying type.

"Talon!" Not wanting to let it's master down, Talonflame shot through the sky towards the ship as fast as it could.

The man then turned his attention to the letter.

There was no name or address on the front but the trainer opened it up anyway. Who else could it have been for?

The letter read:

 _Dear mysterious trainer of Cerulean Cave,_

 _I know not who you are, but I know of the power which you possess. Though I have not seen you or your pokémon directly, we have had recent recordings of mass vibrations coming from the Cerulean Caves. These vibrations could only occur from pokémon of mass power. So here is what I ask of you._

 _I regret to inform you that the Pokémon Master has recently passed away. In his honour, a great tournament has been organised. The winner of which, will become the new Pokémon Master. I invite you to partake in this grand ceremony, of which only the highest calibre of trainers will appear in._

 _The details of the tournament can be found at any pokémon centre. The decision is yours, but I urge you to try your hand at this tournament._

 _Yours sincerely, Lance, Kanto League Champion_

As soon as he finished reading the letter, the trainer simply grunted, scrunched it into a ball, and prepared to throw it out to see. Had he of been his overenthusiastic, naive, younger self, he would've jumped at the opportunity to compete in a tournament such as this. But not any more. He was an outlaw. Returning back to civilisation would end up with him in jail. But even if he could do, he would not return. He no longer had any care for society or other humans. Now, he only lived for his pokémon.

"Talonflame, come back! Let the ship leave!" the trainer yelled to his pokémon before throwing away the mail.

As he threw the letter out to sea, he felt a sharp tugging at his leg. The trainer turned around and looked down to see his Pikachu giving him a blank stare.

"What?" the trainer asked his pokémon. He looked at the rest of his team and saw that they were all giving him a similar look.

Through the past six years, the trainer had learned how to communicate with his pokémon. It wasn't like he could talk to them, he still couldn't understand the pokémon language, but he could get a pretty good idea of what they were trying to tell him through their eyes. The trainer suspected it had something to do with his aura, which he still had yet to fully control, but he wasn't sure.

"Don't even think about it. We are not going to that tournament," he told his pokémon with a voice full of authority.

His pokémon simply continued to plainly stare at him.

"You know we can't go back. Not after what happened..."

 _Flashback_

" _Noivern land down there."_

 _After escaping from Pallet Town, Ash and Noivern had travelled north, and were now on the Cerulean side of Mount Moon. Tears stung Ash's eyes as the wind blasted him in the face. The death of his mother was still fresh in his mind, he couldn't concentrate on anything else._

 _Ash's dragon type landed on the coarse dirt, and was silently returned to it's pokéball._

 _In all honesty, Ash had no idea where he was going. He knew that trying to fly out of Kanto would be hopeless, the air security was too tight, and he knew of no good hiding spots for an extensive stay._

 _He sighed frustratedly as his mind was yet again occupied with thoughts of his mother._

" _GET OUT OF MY HEAD!" the trainer yelled, scaring away a flock of pidgey._

" _Pikapi..." Pikachu felt useless. He currently had no idea how to help his master, who obviously needed it, and he was clueless about what to do next._

 _Unfortunately, Ash's screaming had attracted the attention of a group of passing trainers. And of course, one of them recognized poor Ash._

" _That's him! Ash the pokémon murderer!"_

 _The group of trainers quickly scattered as they ran to Cerulean to inform the police department of the outlaw. One brave, or stupid, young boy stayed behind however, and he sent out his small raticate._

" _Fight me!" he challenged Ash, "I bet you're not worth half the trouble you've caused!"_

 _The boy's words fell on death ears, as Ash simply sat on the floor and began quietly muttering to himself. The young boy looked at Ash as if he was insane and ordered his raticate to attack the outlaw._

 _Pikachu looked up in alarm. It seemed as though Ash was making no attempt to stop the raticate which was nearly upon him. Leaping into action, Pikachu unleashed a monstrous Thunder attack at the unsuspecting raticate. As soon as it made contact, the raticate fell to the ground unconscious._

 _Pikachu may have made the attack more powerful than needed, as the electricity continued to move past the raticate and directly at the young boy. The electric mouse's eyes widened in horror as it realised what would happen to the small boy if he was hit. If he was lucky, the boy would be unconscious for a few weeks and have a few major, but not life threatening, injuries. If he was unlucky… then the boy probably would never get up._

 _Pikachu could only watch in horror as the small child was fried by the electric attack. He didn't even scream. The poor boy could only release the faintest of gurgles as he hit the floor unconscious._

 _Against his better judgement, Pikachu did not go to the boy's aid, and instead went to check on his trainer. He silently nudged Ash a few times to check if he was ok. Pikachu got no response. A puzzled frown came across the pokémon's face. He had never seen his master behave like this before. He looked so… vulnerable._

 _Deciding to take action, Pikachu jolted Ash with a faint thundershock, powerful enough for him to feel it, but nowhere near strong enough to harm him. The trainer shot up as the electricity travelled through his body. He quickly looked around and frowned upon seeing his surroundings. His frown changed to a look of pure horror and disgust at noticing the young trainer's body on the ground._

 _Ash looked at the boy, then at Pikachu. Then at the boy, and at Pikachu. "Pikachu did you… did you attack him?" Ash questioned in disbelief._

 _Pikachu frantically waved his arms in a series of odd movements and gestures, too fast for Ash to follow. The mouse slowed his actions down and pointed at the unconscious child, then at the fallen raticate, then at Ash._

" _So the trainer ordered his raticate to attack me?" Ash asked his faithful companion._

" _Pikapi pikapika!"_

" _So why did you attack the trainer?"_

 _Pikachu then performed an odd array of hand gestures, the likes of which only Ash could follow._

" _You overpowered your attack and hit him?" That made more sense to Ash. No way would Pikachu hurt a small kid without reason. "Well then, we have to help him somehow. But we can't go to the pokémon centre… they'd just arrest me..."_

 _His words were cut off by a blaring siren followed by a booming voice coming through a megaphone._

 _Ash sighed as the police yelled their usual greeting of 'you are under arrest' and the like. It seemed as though whenever he came into contact with humans those were the words that he would always hear._

 _Ash looked around for an escape route and began panicking when he realised where he was. He was trapped between Mt. Moon and the oncoming horde of police. His pokémon were all too tired out to battle, and Noivern would likely be too exhausted to fly him away._

 _Seeing no other option, Ash signalled for Pikachu to get on his shoulder and began to run into Mt. Moon._

 _As he entered the cavern, his vision was immediately cut off by the vast darkness. Ash pressed on into the cave, hoping to get far enough so the police wouldn't find him. When he felt like he was a decent distance away, Ash reached into his backpack and fumbled around for his torch. He sighed with relief as he found it at the bottom of his back, only to moan in annoyance as he realised it was out of power._

" _Hey buddy, think you could spark the batteries?" he asked his companion._

 _Pikachu nodded his head and released a small stream of electricity into the batteries. Sure enough, when Ash tried the torch again it clicked to life._

 _Ash smiled down at his friend and nodded his thanks. He then began to check for a route through the mountain. As he swung the torch beam around, he heard a voice echo out in the distance. Ash switched off the torch in precaution and crouched down low at the side of the cave._

 _After a few minutes of silence, Ash cautiously switched on his torch again. He began to look for an exit again, when another shout cut through the silence of the cave, much closer to him this time._

" _Here's over here!"_

 _Ash groaned. Couldn't they give him a break?_

 _All of a sudden, multiple beams of light began shining in his direction. More shouts were heard and flashes of bright white lights were seen as multiple pokémon were called out. Knowing that his pokémon were in no condition to fight, Ash began to sprint in the opposite direction of the police._

 _He knew that his attempts to outrun them would be futile, they had arcanine and growlithe who could run much faster than him, but he had no over choice. Seen as his torch beams was swinging around madly as he ran, Ash switched it off, only to run straight into a hard, wet wall._

 _He suddenly had a blinding pain in his head, and he became aware of a hot, sticky liquid running down his face. As more voices were heard close to him, Ash struggled to his feet and switched his light back on. As he looked up, he saw the face of the last person he wanted to see._

 _The Cerulean City Officer Jenny. The person who had killed his mother._

 _She smiled crookedly at him and released two powerful looking pokémon._

 _One was a small bat, with oddly shaped wings and evil yellow and red eyes. The majority of it's body was a deep purple, but the insides of it's wings were an odd hue of green. The bat's 'feet' were short and stubby, whereas it's top two wings were long and thin. Ash recognized the pokémon as a crobat._

 _The second pokémon made Ash hesitate for a moment. It looked like a normal dugtrio, except it had hair. It didn't look like a wig, so Ash was baffled. He didn't know that dugtrio could grow hair._

 _Ash nervously looked down at his pokéball belt and selected four of his pokéballs. He knew that his friends were tired, but he needed them to fight._

 _He released Hawlucha, Greninja, Goodra, and Talonflame. He would only send out Noivern if it was absolutely necessary. After all, he had just carried Ash a good fifty miles._

 _Ash's released pokémon looked around for a moment, curious as to why they were released where they couldn't see properly. Talonflame quickly ignited it's body with a flame charge attack and successfully lit up the cavern. One look at their trainer's face told the pokémon not to question his motives for using them. His face was contorted with anger and he had a thick stream of blood running down from his forehead. Whatever he needed them for, it was serious._

 _His team then looked at their opponents and began accessing their strength. They looked tough. Plus, Ash's team were all extremely tired out from the previous battle at Pallet Town. This would be a tough fight._

 _There was a tense silence, the calm before the storm, as neither side moved a muscle. Then out of the blue, Officer Jenny's crobat swooped down at Greninja with a Brave Bird attack._

" _Fight without orders, don't give in," Ash addressed his pokémon. Even though he had an advantage with numbers, the opposition looked strong, and his pokémon were tired._

 _His pokémon jumped into a flurry of attacks. The battle was impossible for Ash to follow, there were too many attacks being fired in the darkness that it strained his eyes too much to see._

 _As he made out the form of Talonflame falling to the ground, Ash felt his throat tighten and his lungs become deprived of oxygen. He feebly struggled to remove whatever had attached itself to his neck, but his struggles were in vain. The force on his throat tightened, making Ash's head go light._

" _What a shame. I thought you'd put up a better fight."_

 _His brain managed to process the source of the voice. Ash immediately recognized it as the all too familiar Officer Jenny. Memories of his mother dying in his arms raced through Ash's mind as he thought about the psychopathic officer. She had already killed his mom. He wouldn't let her kill him too._

 _Finding strength that he didn't know he had, Ash kicked back with his heel, causing Jenny to release her iron grip. Ash took full advantage of the momentum and swiftly drove his elbow into the Officer's face. She doubled over in pain, giving Ash an easy opportunity to strike her down._

 _It was only as he prepared to end the person who had brought him so much pain that Ash realised his hands were glowing a bright blue. In fact, his whole body was. He slowly turned around to face the ongoing pokémon battle, only to find that it had stopped. All seven of the pokémon had ceased fighting and were simply staring at him. Some in confusion, some in fear._

 _All of a sudden, Officer Jenny's pokémon frantically cried out in distress and fled from the scene. Ash didn't have the strength nor the will to tell his pokémon to chase them. He slowly turned around to where the officer should have been, only to see that she was gone. Ash sighed, half in relief, half in stress, before returning his pokémon, thanking each of them for their efforts._

 _The blue tinge to his body died down, leaving him in his natural colours. Ash then released Noivern and gently stroked the great creature's head._

" _Think you can locate an exit?" he asked exhaustedly, smiling when he felt his pokémon nod. "Just make sure not to go to the Pewter or Cerulean exits. No doubt they'll be blocked by police," he said, quietly muttering the last part._

 _Noivern closed his eyes and twitched his ears. The dragon type tilted his head in a certain direction and snapped his eyes wide. Noivern signalled for Ash to follow him, which the trainer swiftly did._

 _Ash motioned for Pikachu to leap onto his shoulder, to which the small mouse willingly obliged. As they followed Noivern, Ash thought about how different things would have been if he had never caught the dragon type. He would be stuck in some prison cell most likely. He would have had no way to fly around, Talonflame wasn't big enough to support him, and he would be lost in these tunnels. Ash began gently stroking Noivern's wing in appreciation for all that his friend had done for him recently._

" _Thanks Noivern. You've really been a big help lately," he told his companion softly, "if it wasn't for you I'd be in a huge mess."_

" _Vern noivern." Noivern ruffled his feathers in embarrassment as his father-figure praised him. Ash had been the first thing he had seen, effectively making him Noivern's father._

 _They walked through the caverns for a good three hours before coming to a stop. Ash groaned as he collapsed to his knees. Walking through the tunnels blind had really done a number on him._

" _Pika..."_

 _Ash looked up to see what had his friend so entranced, and he was blessed with a breathtaking sight. A few feet ahead of him sat a beautiful subterranean lake. The mystic blue water reflected onto the roof of the cave, making it seem as though the light was dancing. There were two or three small streams of water flowing into the reservoir, with one immense waterfall just off to the side. Beside the waterfall, Ash saw light. He couldn't make out any feature of the outside area, but he assumed that there was a field of some sort._

 _At the moment, Ash wasn't up for any more adventuring. He simply released the rest of his pokémon and laid down on the hard, stone floor. Exploring could wait. Now all Ash needed was some rest._

 _End of flashback_

Since that day, Ash had learnt many things about both himself and his pokémon. He had come to the conclusion that the strange blue light that he emitted was aura. Back when he had adventured through Sinnoh, Ash had met an aura guardian who went by the name of Riley. Riley had shown Ash what aura was, and had even confirmed that Ash was an aura user himself, an untrained one at that.

Ever since discovering it, Ash and his team had made the underground lake and the lush meadow their home. After extensive recon from Noivern, Ash had confirmed that they had somehow ended up in Cerulean cave.

Ash's pokémon all looked at one another, looks of disappointment etched onto their faces. None of them had had a real battle in a long time, the pokémon in the cave were all rather weak compared to them, and the tournament had sounded like a good chance to test their strength. But they all knew not to press on the matter. When he thought about the day he had found the cave, Ash normally entered a small depression. That was why his pokémon dropped the matter.

Ash sighed and looked at his pokémon. "You don't need to be worried. I'm not going to go through that again. I'm passed that now."

His team were all doubtful of his response, but they accepted his answer.

"Alright, let's get back to training then. We need to work on endurance."

* * *

After an extensive training session, Ash let his team relax. At that moment, they were all sleeping whereas he was taking a bath in the lake.

When he had first taken a bathe in the water, Ash had expected it to be mind numbingly freezing. He was pleasantly surprised to find that it was actually quite warm. It was the perfect temperature to relax and gather thoughts in.

And right now his thoughts were on his recent delivery.

It seemed as though people were aware of his presence, but not of his identity. For that, he was thankful. He would just have to be careful not to get spotted by Lance.

But the more Ash thought about the Kanto champion, the more he thought about accepting the tournament invite. It was stupid, he knew that, but like his pokémon, Ash had been itching for a battle.

Back before his 'crimes', Ash had battled multiple trainers on a daily basis, and despite never admitting it, he secretly missed that life. Sure, he enjoyed the isolation of just him and his pokémon, but he was a trainer. He couldn't go without battles.

Another reason that Ash refused to return was because of his other pokémon, the ones he left behind. He had long ago accepted that he would never see any of them again. Accepting that made the pain so much easier to deal with. But what if he happened to stumble across one of them while he was at the tournament? If it was Charizard he would surely burn Ash to...well, ash.

But the biggest and most important reason that he refused to go was because of the law. Ash was an outlaw, and one of the most hated throughout the region. If he went back to civilisation and was caught, he would most likely face the death penalty for evading the police for so long.

His thoughts continued like this for another few minutes before he realised something. He had nothing to lose. All that he had now was his pokémon, and like him, they had nothing to lose. He had nothing to work for, nobody to love, and no real life to live. Training continuously was not how life was intended to be lived.

A burst of excitement surged through Ash's body. He was going to do it. He was going to go to the tournament.

Ash stood up and paddled through the lake, intending on informing his pokémon of his decision. He knew that no matter what he decided they would follow him, so he didn't need to consult with them first.

He leapt out of the lake with ease and walked over to his pokémon. Ash whistled a familiar tune and his pokémon all perked up instantly. Through the past six years, Ash and his team had come up with multiple ways of effective communication. Whistling to wake his team up was one method.

"I already know the answer to this question but, will you all follow me no matter what I do?" Ash asked his pokémon, already knowing what they would say.

All of his pokémon cried out their respective affirmatives, but they were confused as to why they were being asked the obvious.

Ash smiled. "Then you will be happy to know that I have decided to make a huge risk. We are going to compete in the tournament."

His pokémon all sat in shock. Not once in these past few years had Ash ever changed his mind about anything. But here he was, changing the most important decision he had to make for a long time. But the shock soon died down and his pokémon became visibly excited. Some were jumping up and down, whereas the more mature members simply smiled at Ash. Smiles which he gladly returned.

"We leave for the pokémon centre first thing tomorrow morning. Be sure to rest up," he told his pokémon before walking to his leaf-woven bed.

As he attempted to sleep, Ash reflected on his choice. He had made a rash decision, something that was unlike his new personality. And that worried him. It was a move that his younger self would have made. Now, he was supposed to be calm and calculating. Not rash and reckless.

But he quickly shook the doubts out of his head as he concentrated on the excitement that was bubbling in his chest. After so long, he was finally going to get to battle again.

He was Ash Ketchum, trainer prodigy of Pallet Town, and he was going back to show the world what he was made of.

* * *

 **So there's chapter 4. Let me know what you thought about how it turned out! Was it good? Or not? Any criticism is welcome! Remember to follow, favourite and review!**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hello readers of FanFiction! I'm back, with chapter five. Again, I wanted to thank everyone for the support being shown so far. It really motivates me to get these updates out as soon as I can. In this chapter we see our first proper battle. It may not be the best, but the future battles will be better, I promise.**

 **Before we start, I was asked to answer some comments again, so here you go. Also, on request by a reader, I have included the names of the people who have commented and/or asked questions.**

Thor94 says: So the league is corrupted to the core, I see no other way for everyone to go crazy. I hope you plan on no forgiving.

 **As much as I want to address both of these points, I can't. Don't want to ruin the plot now do I? :)  
**

pr0dz says: Surely one day, all of his friends will regret turning their backs on him.

 **Hehe...surely they will…**

SolidWorkMan says: Great story with the time skip. Anyway, this is like the best crime/tragedy pokémon fanfiction ever.

 **I mean… I don't even know how to respond to that. I am extremely grateful for your praise, but I also have to disagree. If you want to see the best crime/tragedy pokémon fanfic, check out 11JJ11's 'The Final Battle'.**

 **Also, don't forget to send an OC if you want them to appear in the tournament! If you are interested in having your OC in the story, fill in the form below and pm me!**

 **OC Form:**

Name: Brock

Gender: Male

Age: 27 (As of this story)

Hometown/region: Pewter City, Kanto

Appearance: Spiky brown hair, tanned skin, black eyes (or lack of), light grey trousers, green collared T-shirt, black and orange sleeveless jacket, blue and white trainers ( **You can go into more detail if you want, this is just a basic description)**

Personality: Very mature, level-headed, intelligent, ( **You get the idea)**

Additional Information: Pokémon Breeder, ex-Pewter Gym Leader, grew up without a mom, has a huge family etc.

Pokémon:

Onix (Nickname)

Gender: Male

Personality: Quick tempered, aggressive, relies on brute strength

Moves: ( **Optional)** Tackle, Bind, Dig, Rock Throw, Sandstorm, Slam, Iron Tail, Dragonbreath

Additional information: ( **E.g. shiny, any extra information on appearances, etc)**

( **Your OC can have one to six pokémon)**

 **If you feel as though I've missed anything from the form, be sure to include it in your pm!**

 **So, without further do… here's chapter five...**

* * *

Ash woke up at his usual time and began his routine as normal. As usual, Pikachu and the others woke up while he was meditating. The excitement was evident on all of his team's faces as they prepared themselves for the upcoming adventure.

"You ready to show them our power, Pikachu?" Despite previously being concerned about the tournament, Ash was visibly pumped.

"Pipi pika!" Pikachu was glad that his trainer had accepted the invite. He would finally get to battle again.

Ash turned to call his squad over, only to notice that they were all already lined up. He began to address his pokémon. "Everyone listen up. Before we leave, we have to make sure that it looks like nobody has been here. We can't take any chances of this place being discovered." His pokémon nodded in approval. "And when we're done… we leave for the tournament. Make sure to remember everything that we've learned. So long as we use our skills to the full potential, we should be fine. Now let's get to work."

The group set about various jobs, from hiding anything suspicious like the make-shift beds, to making sure no scorch marks were present.

As Ash was checking around the lake, he looked down at his reflection in the water. His hair was in the same style as when he was younger, it was just much longer, and it was fairly obvious he hadn't shaved in a while. He was wearing ripped pants and had no shirt on.

"Looks like I need to sort myself out..." Ash pondered out loud. "Hey, Greninja, come over here!"

The ninja-frog quickly leapt over to Ash and stood to attention.

"Think you could give me another hair cut and shave?" he asked the water type.

"Ninjanin." Greninja motioned for Ash to sit down, which he soon did, before charging up a small cut attack. This was how Ash had been cutting his hair for the past few years. He hadn't bothered too much with it, he just made sure that it didn't grow too long so that it would distract him.

A few minutes later they were done, and Ash looked down at himself in the water. He nodded to himself with satisfaction as he saw his appearance, and proceeded to thank his companion.

Ash and his pokémon finished cleaning up the area before meeting in the meadow. They all stood in a circle, and Ash pulled out six red and white balls.

"Remember these?" he asked his friends. Ever since they came to this place, none of his pokémon had been in their pokéballs, opting to stay outside with Ash instead.

His team's faces displayed a mixture of expressions. Most were calm and reminiscent, whereas Pikachu's face curled up in disgust at the capsules.

Ash chuckled lightly at his partner's response before continuing to address his comrades. "While we're at the tournament you're all gonna have to stay in your balls," he shot a quick glance at Pikachu, "not you though buddy. Don't worry, we'll find a way to get around that."

Pikachu nodded his head in satisfaction and squeaked his approval. No way was he going in one of those balls.

"Noivern, think you can fly us to the nearest pokémon centre?"

Noivern grunted in response and began flexing his wings, preparing himself for flight.

Ash smiled in appreciation. "I'm going to return the rest of you now. I'll let you all out as soon as I can, don't worry."

His team became shrouded with a mysterious red glow before being sucked into the capsules.

"I've been a trainer for twelve years and still have no idea how these things work..." Ash muttered, thinking of the technology required to make such a device. "I'm ready when you are Noivern."

Pikachu leaped onto Ash's shoulder as the trainer mounted his loyal companion. With one flap of his wings, Noivern propelled the trio into the air at a speed which rivalled light.

Ash took a long look back at the place where he had spent the last six years. If all went to plan, he would return there after winning the tournament.

As they glided over the beautiful landscape of Kanto, Ash took in the sights that he hadn't laid eyes on for six years. He had to admit that, even though he loved his life in solitude, he had dearly missed this part of life. There wasn't much better than travelling and exploring new and exciting places.

They arrived rather quickly near the closest pokémon centre, which resided in the small Rifure Village. Ash had never been there before but he had heard that many gym's badges were produced there.

He instructed Noivern to land just outside of the village so they weren't seen. Past experiences had taught him that going in loud didn't end well.

After recalling Noivern, Ash and Pikachu walked along the faded path to the village. As they walked through the quiet streets, Ash noticed that many people were giving him odd looks.

He immediately began worrying that people might recognize him. He hadn't done much to hide his appearance after all.

Ash hurried his pace to something just short of a jog as he headed to the pokémon centre. He wanted to get the required information and leave the village as soon as possible.

Relief flooded his chest as the red roof of the centre came into view. He swiftly entered through the automatic glass doors and walked to the front desk.

The face of a familiar pink-haired nurse smiled at him as he approached her. He did his best to ignore the stares of various other trainers in the facility, but they still put him on edge. He was ready to flee at a moments notice.

"Hello there, welcome to the Rifure pokémon centre! How may I help you today?" Nurse Joy addressed him in her usual upbeat manner.

Ash hadn't heard the voice of another human for six years, so he was curious as to how he would react on talking to other people again. "I...uhm...can you give me information on the Pokémon Masters tournament?" Ash tried to quell the anger that was swelling up inside of him. Deep down he knew that the nurse had done no wrong to him, or likely anyone for that matter, but in his eyes, every human was responsible for what had happened to him. Nobody had helped him in his time of need.

"Of course," she smiled brightly at him, "it will be held at the Indigo Plateau in exactly three days from now. It is required to have a tournament invite to participate, though you can also gain entry by winning a qualifying battle."

Ash nodded his head in understanding before muttering a barely audible 'thank you'.

"Sir?" Nurse Joy stopped him as he was leaving.

"What?" Ash had little patience for the woman. He needed to get going.

"May I suggest you change your current attire? You appear to be attracting quite a few odd looks."

Ash glanced down at his body before his mentally hit himself. He was still only dressed in his tborn trousers. He would need to visit the local clothes store before going anywhere else.

Ash nodded at the delightful woman before leaving the pokémon centre. He briefly looked around for his destination, before his eyes landed on a brightly coloured shop sign which read: 'Andy's Apparel Outlet'. He shook his head before approaching the said store.

A high-pitched bell rang as he pushed the door open. He was hit by a strong stench which could only be described as burning rubber. Ash approached the shop counter and noticed a middle-aged man sitting down, smoking a joint. At least he knew where the smell was coming from.

"Wasssssup dude? Here for sssssome gear?" The man had long curly hair and a rather exotic looking T-shirt on. His navy sunglasses obscured the man's eyes from Ash's view.

"Yes." Ash wanted to keep the conversation with this man short. He knew that the man wouldn't be thinking straight anyway.

"Cool ssstuff bro. It'ss all on the housse today," the man said to him in a rather calm tone. "POWER TO THE PEOPLE!" he yelled while jumping up from his chair, only to fall right back down.

Ash simply furrowed his eyebrow at the man's outburst. He was rather thankful that the man was high. After all, Ash had no money on him. It was a good thing everything was free.

Ash nodded at the man, though he didn't think the guy noticed him, before strolling around the shop. He needed something that would keep his face hidden, but something that was easy to manoeuvrer in. After a brief look around, Ash picked up a few clothes and went to the changing room. He quickly put everything on, which conveniently all fit his size, before looking at himself in the mirror.

He was wearing dark grey combats and black sneakers. A light grey hoodie covered his top half, and he made a mental note to keep it up at all times. He wore a baseball cap underneath his hood to further obscure his identity, and a black snood covered the lower half of his face. Ash briefly pondered whether or not to wear sunglasses to hide his eyes, but decided against it. The cap and the hood would keep people's attention away from them. He also wore a grey messenger bag, which he only took to be on the safe side.

He nodded his head in satisfaction and walked out of the store. He had chosen the typical young delinquent look so people would hopefully avoid him. Even though in his eyes everyone was the same, cruel and selfish, many people saw the youth of the world as antisocial and many people tried their best to stay way from them. An advantage which he sought to exploit.

"What do you think buddy? How do I look?" Ash asked Pikachu, who had been surprisingly quiet since they had landed.

"Pikapi kapi."

Ash chuckled at his friend's answer. "I know I don't look too appealing, but that's the point." ( **A/N: These opinions aren't my own. I don't think any of you really care, but better safe than sorry).**

The duo travelled in companionable silence as they walked out of the village and to the nearby forest. Ash released Noivern, who proceeded to fly them to just south of the Indigo League.

The great dragon type landed in a large clearing and dipped his wing for Ash to dismount. Ash nodded his thanks to Noivern before releasing all of his pokémon. He wanted to address them before they engaged in anything to do with the tournament. He also wanted his team to get used to his new appearance.

"Everyone listen up." His pokémon all noticeably straightened themselves as Ash began speaking. "The tournament begins in three days. We will likely have to battle before it begins in order to qualify. I have no doubt that we will win. I advice you all to keep interactions with other pokémon and trainers to a minimum, excluding in battles obviously," Ash flashed a grin at his team, which could only be noticed by his snood crinkling slightly, "We will win this tournament. I trust in you and I hope that you trust in me too. We've been together for years now. We've trained hard for this. If we work together, we can be unstoppable."

His pokémon all cheered in response before being sucked back into their balls. Ash motioned for Pikachu to get into his bag before he began the short walk to the Plateau. Ash wanted to keep all of his pokémon hidden for two reasons. First, he didn't want any other competitors to know his team. Secondly, he thought he would seem quite suspicious if he openly showed everyone the team that the infamous Ash Ketchum had before disappearing.

As he strolled through the lush forests surrounding Indigo Plateau, Ash began to think about any small details that he had left out of his plan. He had a simple cover story. His name was Red, a name which he found in a book back at Bill's house all those years ago, and he had grown up as an orphan in Lumiose City. He chose Lumiose because of his team. It only made sense that a trainer from Kalos would have a team full of Kalos native pokémon.

The end of the forest soon came into sight, and Ash found himself walking along a worn dirt path. Up ahead of him loomed the mighty castle of the Indigo League. He stared at it as he felt a wave of nostalgia pass over him. This was where he had first demonstrated his techniques and skills as a trainer. Back all those years ago when he had been a simple, arrogant child.

Ash shook his head as he thought of his past self. Even after all these years, Ash still couldn't begin to understand how he had been such a stupid trainer. He promised himself that he would never make the same mistakes as his younger self.

As he was about to step through the gates, Ash heard a voice that he had hoped he would never have to listen to again.

"Hey look! A trainer! Let's challenge him to a battle!" came a rather annoying teenage male voice from behind him.

Ash ignored the boy and continued to walk into the Plateau. He heard a series of shouts and yells before he noticed someone was running over to him.

"Hey! Why'd you go and ignore me?"

Ash sighed as the boy came up to his side. He'd known that he would encounter this person here, Ash just wish that he didn't have to meet them so soon.

Without even looking at the boy, Ash simply told him, "Get lost kid," and he continued walking.

The boy's face fell into a frown as he jogged to catch up with Ash. "What type of a trainer are you? Your pokémon must be pretty weak if you won't even battle me," the boy replied in a matter-of-fact tone, a smirk sat smugly on his face.

Ash whipped around and came face-to-face with the boy. He had to bend down a little so that he was at the boy's height. "Don't you _ever_ call my friends weak. Any one of them could single handedly destroy your entire team without even batting an eyelash. Get lost before I hurt you." Even Ash was surprised with how harsh his voice had sounded. He hadn't known how he would react when he encountered this boy and a few others, but the anger came naturally to him.

The boy recoiled in both shock and horror. The arrogant smirk fell of his face, replaced with a look of pure fear.

"Max!"

Ash's body stiffened as he heard the all too familiar voice. He looked to his left and saw a small group of three running over to him.

In the group were three young adults, two of whom were the same age as Ash. One was slightly older. May. Brock. Dawn. Ash recounted their names in his head, his former travelling partners made him both angry and fearful. These people had abandoned him, left him for dead. And here they were, looking all innocent and carefree.

"Hello? Mister?" May called as she swiped her hand in front of his face.

"Huh?" Ash wasn't even aware that anyone was talking to him. A scowl appeared on his face as he recognized who, though the small group couldn't notice. "What do you want?"

May looked slightly taken aback by his attitude, but answered nevertheless. "I was just apologising for my brother's behaviour. He always runs off like this."

Ash nodded slightly as he said, "It's fine," before walking away.

"Wait up!"

He sighed in frustration as he turned back around, only to see the bluenette directly in front of him. "What do you want?" he asked rather gruffly.

"We were just wondering what your name was," she smiled at him cheerfully, "I'm Dawn, and that's May, Brock, and Max," she said as she pointed at each individual.

"Red. Now leave me alone."

"Wait a second, are you competing in the tournament?" This time it was Brock who asked the question.

Ash sighed. He didn't know how much longer he could keep the anger locked up for. "What else would I be here for?" he asked, annoyance obvious in his voice. He had expected his outfit to put most people off of talking to him. That plan clearly wasn't working.

After seeing that he wasn't going to get a response, Ash left the group as he entered Indigo Plateau's famous Indigo Castle.

He was quite impressed with the sheer amount of people that were here for the tournament. He had expected there to be a few hundred at most, but he estimated that there were around two thousand or so competitors.

Ash walked straight to the registration line and sighed as he noticed how long it was. He patiently got in line and awaited his turn to be served.

* * *

The queue took around one hour to die before Ash was at the front. His wait wasn't made any better, as the small group of his 'friends' were right behind him the whole way. He had simply ignored them, although he had nearly snapped at the obnoxious Max a few times.

"Name, birthplace, and badge number please."

Ash was snapped out of his stupor by a calm and friendly voice. He looked up and saw a smiling Nurse Joy looking at him. Although she was doing her best not to show it, she looked exhausted. Ash wasn't surprised given the amount of registrations that she had to sign up.

"Red, from Lumiose City. No badges," he told her sharply.

The nurse nodded her head. "Okay Red, because you have no badges, you will have to participate in a qualifying battle before you can compete in the tournament. The board displaying your opponent is over there," she told him as she pointed behind him.

"Thank you," he said stiffly before turning to walk away.

"Wow. Looks like I was right when I said you were weak."

"Save it for the battlefield, runt," Ash gruffly told Max.

The only response that he got was a light chuckle from the nerdy teenager. Ash sighed before walking away.

Ash located the board that Nurse Joy had mentioned and quickly found his name. He would be battling a Rob Bryson in the qualifying match at stadium C. His battle would start as soon as both trainers were ready, so Ash made his way through the winding corridors of Indigo Plateau to the stadium as soon as possible.

* * *

It only took around ten minutes for Ash to locate his battlefield. Stood in the other side's trainer's box was a young teenager, who Ash guessed to be about sixteen, casually throwing a pokéball up and down. The boy was wearing a neon pink T-shirt and blue shorts. He wore red flip-flops on his feet, which matched his burnt skin colour. His hair was in a tightly-curled afro, just like the Sinnoh Elite Four Flint's, only brown instead of red. Overall, Ash thought his appearance made him look rather goofy, but he wouldn't underestimate his opponent. That was a huge mistake in pokémon battling, a fact that Ash had first hand experience with.

The referee took up his position at the side of the battlefield and raised two flags at his sides. "At the green side, we have Rob Bryson of Snowpoint City. On the red side, we have Red of Lumiose City. The red trainer will choose his pokémon first."

Ash nodded at the usual speech given by referees. His fingers danced along each of his pokéballs before he came to a decision. "Noivern, let's go!" he called as he released the powerful dragon type.

Rob simply looked at the beast with an unimpressed expression, before he released a battle-scared weavile. "This one should be easy Weavile! Go get 'em!" the boy called, his face adorned by a cocky grin.

"We'll see..." Ash muttered under his breath.

The referee looked at both sides before lowering his flags and yelling, "Let the battle begin!"

"Weavile use Ice Shard!" Rob called to his pokémon. Two small orbs of ice began charging in Weavile's hands before being released towards Noivern. Rob was obviously attempting to take advantage of the huge type advantage that he possessed. Unfortunately for him, Ash wasn't about to let him win easily.

After seeing the miniscule amount of power that the Ice Shard attack actually possessed, Ash made his decision. "Noivern stand you ground. Then use Hurricane." Ash knew that he would win this match. Rob's Weavile lacked the obvious strength needed to overcome any of Ash's pokémon.

A feral grin stretched across Rob's face as 'Red' made the command. Didn't he know that Noivern was incredibly weak to ice? That grin soon turned upside down, however, as he saw Noivern simply shrug off the attack.

Noivern flapped his powerful wings twice, creating a huge Hurricane attack which swept across the field.

"Weavile stand your ground!" Rob yelled in desperation. The sheer power behind the Hurricane attack was enough to make Rob realise that he had hugely underestimated his foe.

Weavile's attempts to resist the attack were futile, as it was soon lost among the swirling tornado.

"Flamethrower into the Hurricane. End this," Red commanded Noivern monotonously. This battle was simply too boring. He was expecting more of a challenge.

Noivern screeched before blasting an intense wave of fire into the Hurricane attack. The Hurricane developed a bright red colour as the two attacks combined, creating a flaming vortex of destruction.

Moments later, Weavile was sent flying out of the cyclone, looking very burnt and very much unconscious.

The referee looked over at Weavile and upon seeing the swirls in its eyes, declared Red the winner of the match.

As soon as the call was made, Ash returned Noivern and strolled out of the stadium. He didn't even look back to notice Rob staring at him in a mixture of both fear and awe.

* * *

After leaving the arena, Ash made his way back over to the Nurse Joy that he had met earlier. Thankfully, there was no queue this time, so Ash didn't have to wait.

The nurse smiled at him as he approached her, a gesture which he did not return.

"Hello there Red, I see that you won your match," she addressed him in her usual friendly tone.

"Yes, I did. When does the actual battling begin?"

"Scheduled battles begin tomorrow. You can see who, when, and where you are battling on that same board as earlier."

Ash didn't thank for the nurse, instead opting to sharply nod his head at her.

"Wait, Mr. Red!"

He sighed. "What?"

Nurse Joy frowned at him. Most trainers were never this rude to her, they were normally friendly at the least. "Don't you need a room to stay at?"

"No. I sleep outside."

"Are you sure? The weather isn't supposed to be very good in the coming days. You don't want to fall ill during the tournament."

"I'll be fine," he told her before walking away.

As Ash made his way through Indigo Plateau, he attempted to pick out any familiar faces in the crowd. Not only did he want to survey the competition, he also needed to pick out anyone that he needed to avoid. Even though only his eyes were showing, the more perceptive people might've been able to recognise him.

"Coming through! Get out of the way!"

Ash turned to the direction of the frantic voice, only to be sent sprawling across the floor as the other person barged into him.

"What the hell is wrong with you?" he asked as he rose back to his feet while clutching his head.

"I'm late… gotta register in time… out of the way or I'm fining you!" the other boy yelled before running off.

From those three words, Ash knew who the other person was. Barry. One of his former rivals during the Sinnoh League. Ash shook his head as he thought of the irresponsible boy. Barry was always getting himself into all kinds of trouble, often because of his big mouth. He could never admit that Ash was a better trainer than him, even though it was quite obvious.

A flurry of scampering feet came from behind Ash. He turned around and was met with the sight of the same group of his former friends as earlier.

"We saw what happened, are you alright?" Brock asked him.

"I'm fine." Ash didn't know why, but, like the first time that he encountered the group, his body stiffened up and he found himself unable to walk away.

"That Barry… one day I'll get through his thick skull..." an angry Dawn trailed off whilst shaking her fist.

Ash observed her behaviour with mild interest. It seemed as though neither her nor Barry had changed much since Sinnoh. Barry was still his usual irresponsible self, and Dawn was still scolding him like a child. Despite himself, Ash found it rather humorous.

Ash fought against his limbs which refused to move, and, in a battle of willpower, found himself walking away from the group.

"What's his problem?" May asked, rather irritated at Ash's behaviour.

"Some people are just more introverted than us I guess," Brock answered her, always being the wise one of the group.

"He could at least use his manners though." Dawn wasn't quite as annoyed by Ash's behaviour as May, but still found him to be quite rude.

"Who cares? He's just some weakling who's too afraid to even be around anyone," Max said in a rather condescending tone.

"Shut up Max. You only just managed to get into this tournament yourself."

Brock and Dawn both sighed at the siblings behaviour, though they were used to it enough that they knew how to zone out the pair's arguments.

* * *

As soon as Ash was out of the Plateau, he made his way back to the forest that he had landed in earlier. As soon as he felt like he was deep enough into the trees to where he would not be noticed, Ash unzipped his backpack and let Pikachu out.

"Sorry you had to stay in there for so long buddy, there were just a lot of distractions," Ash apologised to his partner.

"Pikapi."

Ash smiled and scratched the mouse's ears. "Thanks for being so understanding. Now then," he said as he stood up, "what do you say about releasing the rest of the team?"

Five white flashes lit up the clearing, each revealing one of Ash's team.

"So, we're officially in the tournament," Ash told his team with a smile. He walked over to Noivern and began stroking is head. "You did great in that battle."

Noivern ruffled his feathers at the praise, gladly soaking up the attention being given to him by his trainer.

"The official battles begin tomorrow. I'm sorry to the rest of you, but I doubt that I'll be using any of you other than Noivern until the later stages."

His pokémon gave him looks of confusion and disappointment. They had all desperately wanted to battle in the tournament.

"Alright, I'll explain myself. I can't risk too many of you being seen. I don't want anybody to put two and two together when they see you all. It's too much of a gamble for me to chance that."

Ash's pokémon, while disappointed, nodded their heads in agreement. What Ash had said made sense, it was too risky to take the chance.

"But, I promise you all that you will get your chance to battle in the last few rounds. If anybody does start to realise what's going on, we'll just get out of here. Does that sound fair?"

His team nodded their heads again, albeit much more enthusiastically than last time.

Ash clasped his hands together and smiled. "What do you say we get a camp set up?"

* * *

Ash was laying down on a bed of leaves, surrounded by his pokémon. There was a small fire crackling in the dusk of night, providing the only light other than the faint glow given off by Talonflame.

"You awake Pikachu?"

"Pikapi," the small mouse replied tiredly.

"Do you think we made the right choice? Coming here?"

"Pika kapipi."

Ash chuckled as his long-time best friend. "I guess you're right, it doesn't matter if we made the right choice or not. What matters is that we're here."

After several minutes of silence, Pikachu joined his fellow pokémon and fell asleep. Ash lightly scratched Pikachu behind the ears, gently enough so that he wouldn't wake the mouse.

Ash gazed into the small campfire, anticipating what was yet to come. He knew that, as he progressed in the tournament, the battles would become harder. He hoped that he would be able to battle a League Champion at some point. The satisfaction of winning would be astounding.

Ash frowned at that thought. While it would be impressive to defeat a champion, it would attract _a lot_ of unwanted attention. People would talk about him, and somebody might even discover his true identity.

Ash sighed. Why couldn't everything be easier for him? It seemed as though that for every positive in his life, there was an equal, or greater, negative to counter it. Those were his last thoughts before, he too, joined his pokémon in slumber, dreams of victory and greatness filling his sleep.

* * *

A light shaking on his arm woke Ash up. He looked to his left and saw Pikachu gently nuzzling him. Ash smiled and scratched his friend's ears, earning himself a satisfied 'chuuu'.

"Come on buddy, let's get ready. I forgot to check who we are supposed to be battling today."

Ash stood up, knocking Pikachu over in the process, and looked around the clearing. It seemed as though his team had gone off to get breakfast, as none of them were at the campsite.

Ash sat down next to the small fire, that had somehow managed to keep on burning through the night, and dowsed the flame. He began to do his usual morning warm-up routine, starting with a few push-ups and sit-ups.

As he hit fifty sit-ups, a loud crash came from behind him. Ash interrupted his exercise and glanced behind him, only to see both Goodra and Greninja sprawled out across the floor.

"Will you two ever stop fighting?" Over the years, a brotherly rivalry had flared to life between Goodra and Greninja. They would always compete for Ash's affection, and to determine who the stronger one of them was. The battles would usually end in a draw, but if Greninja triggered the bond phenomenon, Goodra stood no chance.

Shortly after, the rest of hi team arrived, all looking rather refreshed and satisfied. Hawlucha walked over to Ash and dropped a pile of berries in front of him.

"Thanks Hawlucha," Ash smiled at his friend. Even though the fighting type hid it well, Ash knew that Hawlucha loved to have his attention just as much as the rest of his team. Hawlucha's pride just didn't allow him to show it.

Twenty minutes later, Ash entered the Indigo Plateau gates. He currently only had Noivern's pokéball with him, opting to let the others explore the forest, so long as they weren't seen.

Ash stalked over to the fixtures board and searched for his name. His eyes darted about the screen, looking for who, where, and when he would be battling. As he eventually located his name, Ash smiled upon seeing who his first opponent would be.

This was going to get interesting.

* * *

 **And there's chapter five! I found this chapter quite easy to write, to be honest. The words just seemed to flow. Whether that means that it turned out well or not, is up to you to decide. So, who do you think Ash's first opponent is going to be? Make sure to review, follow, and favourite, and I'll see you guys next time.**


	6. Update

**No, this is not a chapter.**

 **I have received multiple messages asking me why I have abandoned the story. I assure you that this is not the case.**

 **In all honesty, I'm not happy with how the story has gone so far. It seems too rushed and is lacking in detail. Not to mention unrealistic.**

 **So, what am I going to do? Quit the story altogether? No.**

 **I am in the process of writing another story. Some parts of it will be taken from this one, most won't. The basic storyline will be the same (Ash being betrayed etc.) but the new story will focus much more on detail and will be (hopefully) a lot more realistic.**

 **I am still undecided whether I will just overwrite the current chapters or create a brand new story.**

 **I am sorry to all of you who thought that this was a new chapter, and I am even more sorry that I have been absent for two months.**

 **Be sure to keep checking in for the next few weeks, the new story will be out soon.**

 **Greninja Time signing off.**


End file.
